ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare: Circuses

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the use of wild animals in circuses.

James Paice: A consultation on the use of wild animals in circuses came to an end earlier this year. We are currently considering the 13,000 or so responses before we publish a summary. In the meantime, Lord Henley has been meeting with representatives of welfare groups and the circus industry. An industry body has proposed a self-regulatory system but no decisions have been made.

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her Department's policy is on bringing forward legislative proposals to extend the application of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to private dwellings.

James Paice: Earlier this year, DEFRA and the Home Office published a public consultation on dangerous dogs and how to encourage responsible dog ownership. A number of proposals were raised during the consultation, including the issue of whether to extend the criminal offence of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control to private places. The consultation closed on 1 June and received 4,250 responses. We are currently analysing these responses and will publish a summary of the responses to the consultation very soon.

Dogs: Electric Shock Equipment

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the merits of introducing a ban on the use of shock collars.

James Paice: There are no current plans to ban the use of electronic training aids for animals. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 already makes it an offence to cause unnecessary suffering to any animal and to treat an animal in a way that fails to meet its welfare needs. It also provides additional powers to prohibit the use of any such equipment through secondary legislation if considered necessary.
	However, we recognise the need for further research into this issue. DEFRA is currently carrying out a study into whether electronic training collars cause unnecessary suffering, and this is expected to be completed next year.

Natural England: Agriculture

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of members of the Natural England  (a) board and  (b) committees has a background in farming.

James Paice: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Natural England Board has two farmers and a smallholder out of a total of ten non-executive board members.
	 (b) Natural England has no statutory committees. Other groups or committees such as the Audit and Risk Committee meet according to business needs and include membership drawn from the non-executive Board. Natural England's Science Advisory Committee includes external representation from universities, including the Centre for Rural Economy, School of Agriculture, University of Newcastle.

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what factors she will take into account in determining whether beak trimming of laying hens can be ended in 2016.

James Paice: The Beak Trimming Action Group, comprising representatives from industry, welfare groups, DEFRA, scientific and veterinary professions will be reconvened at the start of next year. It will be tasked with establishing an action plan to work towards a ban on routine beak trimming of laying hens in 2016. The review will consider results of on-going research projects that are investigating practical and realistic ways to rear laying hens without the need for beak trimming and will consider the outcome of industry study tours to those European countries where they do not beak trim. As the impact of feather pecking is greatest in systems of management which do not house birds in cages, the risk to the welfare of laying hens from injurious pecking is likely to increase after the ban on conventional cages comes into force on 1 January 2012. A review in 2015 will allow producers time to increase their experience of managing flocks in alternative systems.

Poultry: Animal Welfare

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the findings of her Department's visit to countries that do not have beak trimming of laying hens; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: The UK laying hen industry will be responsible for conducting visits to those European countries who do not beak trim. The findings of the study tours will be presented to the Beak Trimming Action Group, which comprises representatives from industry, welfare groups, DEFRA, scientific and veterinary professions, which will be reconvened at the start of next year to establish an action plan to work towards a ban of routine beak trimming of laying hens in 2016. The industry experiences and results of on-going research will be fed in to the review in 2015.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued in each police authority area in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

James Brokenshire: The latest available data on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued, cover the period 1 April 1999 to 31 December 2008. The number of ASBOs issued at all courts in each criminal justice system (CJS) area in each year between 2004 and 2008 is shown in the following table. CJS areas are coterminous with police force/police authority areas.
	
		
			  Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued at all courts( 1 ) in each criminal justice system (C JS) area,  as reported to the Ministry of Justice( 2 ) by the Court Service, in each year, 2004 - 08, England and Wales 
			  Number 
			  CJS area  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Avon and Somerset 89 61 34 29 33 
			 Bedfordshire 18 40 31 25 18 
			 Cambridgeshire 26 50 31 20 34 
			 Cheshire 62 98 43 37 27 
			 Cleveland 28 60 80 65 51 
			 Cumbria 31 49 31 27 37 
			 Derbyshire 46 60 41 24 30 
			 Devon and Cornwall 81 73 46 30 29 
			 Dorset 36 19 15 13 9 
			 Durham 31 27 26 19 41 
			 Dyfed Powys 8 15 8 8 2 
			 Essex 79 88 32 28 15 
			 Gloucestershire 26 30 21 16 19 
			 Greater London 446 532 358 269 215 
			 Greater Manchester 430 458 225 178 151 
			 Gwent 27 33 49 27 16 
			 Hampshire 100 112 66 90 74 
			 Hertfordshire 40 73 35 32 16 
			 Humberside 72 138 115 78 70 
			 Kent 54 44 29 26 13 
			 Lancashire 126 148 115 102 53 
			 Leicestershire 45 71 42 30 31 
			 Lincolnshire 12 20 17 8 9 
			 Merseyside 96 128 94 87 117 
			 Norfolk 43 46 27 30 36 
			 North Wales 42 103 87 78 53 
			 North Yorkshire 41 34 27 25 12 
			 Northamptonshire 39 32 13 22 40 
			 Northumbria 75 181 70 38 37 
			 Nottinghamshire 91 126 70 84 70 
			 South Wales 46 64 54 50 54 
			 South Yorkshire 80 104 83 49 47 
			 Staffordshire 59 59 35 34 30 
			 Suffolk 78 53 35 50 25 
			 Surrey 48 50 26 17 13 
			 Sussex 97 95 73 49 46 
			 Thames Valley 77 57 44 54 43 
			 Warwickshire 28 30 27 21 15 
			 West Mercia 58 72 40 33 65 
			 West Midlands 243 307 189 181 197 
			 West Yorkshire 305 260 217 209 130 
			 Wiltshire 20 22 4 7 4 
			 England and Wales 3,479 4,122 2,705 2,299 2,027 
			 (1) Includes ASBOs issued on application by magistrates courts acting in their civil capacity and county courts, which became available on 1 April 1999 and ASBOs made following conviction for a relevant criminal offence at the Crown court and at magistrates courts (acting in their criminal capacity), which became available on 2 December 2002. (2) Prior to the creation of the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007, numbers of ASBOs issued were reported to Home Office by the Court Service.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Prepared by Justice Statistics Analytical Services within the Ministry of Justice.

Crime: Young People

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were reported to have been committed by  (a) people under the age of criminal responsibility, (b) people with a mental health disorder and  (c) members of the armed forces in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: The requested information is not available centrally. The recorded crime data collected by the Home Office concentrates solely on the numbers of offences recorded and detected by the police and no details on the offender are included.

Offensive Weapons: Crime

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences involving offensive weapons were recorded in each police authority area in each year between 2005 and 2009.

James Brokenshire: Available data relate only to (a) offences where firearms have been fired, used as a blunt instrument against a person or used as a threat and (b) offences that involved knives and sharp instruments. From the information collected on recorded crime it is not possible to identify those offences where other offensive weapons were used, since details of the individual circumstances of offences are not recorded.
	The available information for firearm offences relates to offences recorded between 2004-05 and 2008-09 and is provided in table A. Data for 2009-10 will be published in January 2011.
	
		
			  Table A: Firearm offences (excluding air weapons) by police force area, English regions and Wales 2004 - 05 to 2008 - 09 
			  Recorded crime 
			  Police force area  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Cleveland 37 41 19 15 34 
			 Durham 21 18 14 45 22 
			 Northumbria 182 137 111 78 51 
			  North-e ast region 240 196 144 138 107 
			   
			 Cheshire 61 71 41 59 61 
			 Cumbria 26 18 21 18 28 
			 Greater Manchester 1,268 1,200 993 1,160 827 
			 Lancashire 259 372 364 349 207 
			 Merseyside 491 485 410 398 353 
			  North-w est region 2,105 2,146 1,829 1,984 1,476 
			   
			 Humberside 174 108 117 58 62 
			 North Yorkshire 13 15 14 17 11 
			 South Yorkshire 185 301 211 202 144 
			 West Yorkshire 318 355 319 332 287 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber region 690 779 661 609 504 
			   
			 Derbyshire 149 109 83 70 75 
			 Leicestershire 123 89 109 134 127 
			 Lincolnshire 90 72 45 41 16 
			 Northamptonshire 113 128 159 164 112 
			 Nottinghamshire 303 277 196 240 204 
			  E ast midlands region 778 675 592 649 534 
			   
			 Staffordshire 144 128 94 123 44 
			 Warwickshire 73 80 90 107 56 
			 West Mercia 151 115 58 124 79 
			 West midlands 959 946 979 974 987 
			  West midlands  r egion 1,327 1,269 1,221 1,328 1,166 
			   
			 Bedfordshire 94 103 86 83 64 
			 Cambridgeshire 50 34 24 30 34 
			 Essex 193 280 255 260 176 
			 Hertfordshire 139 114 89 112 68 
			 Norfolk 23 29 34 43 29 
			 Suffolk 59 58 42 38 25 
			  East of England region 558 618 530 566 396 
			   
			 London, City of 3 1 4 3 3 
			 Metropolitan 3,694 3,883 3,327 3,396 3,087 
			  London region 3,697 3,884 3,331 3,399 3,090 
			   
			 Hampshire 148 85 122 100 80 
			 Kent 100 142 92 82 93 
			 Surrey 63 87 60 70 66 
			 Sussex 67 85 84 69 65 
			 Thames Valley 437 401 332 322 214 
			  South-e ast region 815 800 690 643 518 
			   
			 Avon and Somerset 196 167 138 116 95 
			 Devon and Cornwall 189 174 132 111 70 
			 Dorset 49 27 28 21 16 
			 Gloucestershire 87 77 65 43 52 
			 Wiltshire 49 43 69 49 45 
			  South-w est region 570 488 432 340 278 
			   
			 Dyfed-Powys 40 21 17 25 7 
			 Gwent 85 53 33 47 36 
			 North Wales 60 88 98 53 42 
			 South Wales 104 71 67 84 54 
			  Wales 289 233 215 209 139 
			   
			 England and Wales 11,069 11,088 9,645 9,865 8,208 
		
	
	The Home Office has collected additional data on selected offences involving knives and sharp instruments since April 2007. Thus, there are no data available prior to 2007-08. Please note that the 2007-08 figures are not comparable to 2008-09 and 2009-10 due to the expanded offence coverage in those years. The available information is provided in tables B1 and B2.
	
		
			  Table B1: Knife and sharp instrument offences by police force area, English regions and Wales 2007-08( 1) 
			   Recorded crime 
			  Police force area( 2)  2007-08 
			 Cleveland 169 
			 Durham 93 
			 Northumbria 351 
			  North-east region 613 
			   
			 Cheshire 224 
			 Cumbria 73 
			 Greater Manchester 2,214 
			 Lancashire 361 
			 Merseyside 757 
			  North-west region 3,629 
			   
			 Humberside 267 
			 North Yorkshire 66 
			 South Yorkshire 381 
			 West Yorkshire 915 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber region 1,629 
			   
			 Derbyshire 215 
			 Leicestershire 294 
			 Lincolnshire 71 
			 Northamptonshire 216 
			 Nottinghamshire 548 
			  East midlands region 1,344 
			   
			 Staffordshire 219 
			 Warwickshire 160 
			 West Mercia 144 
			 West midlands 2,648 
			  West midlands region 3,171 
			   
			 Bedfordshire 316 
			 Cambridgeshire 100 
			 Essex 289 
			 Hertfordshire 222 
			 Norfolk 67 
			 Suffolk 118 
			  East of England region 1,112 
			   
			 London, City of 19 
			 Metropolitan 9,937 
			  London region 9,956 
			   
			 Hampshire 388 
			 Kent 327 
			 Surrey 114 
			 Sussex 274 
			 Thames Valley 633 
			  South-east region 1,736 
			   
			 Avon and Somerset 360 
			 Devon and Cornwall 288 
			 Dorset 47 
			 Gloucestershire 85 
			 Wiltshire 140 
			  South-west region 920 
			   
			 Dyfed-Powys 76 
			 Gwent 130 
			 North Wales 108 
			 South Wales 585 
			  Wales 899 
			   
			 British Transport Police 269 
			   
			 England and Wales 25,278 
			 (1) Police recorded knife and sharp instrument offences data are submitted via an additional special collection. Other offences exist that are not shown in this table that may include the use of a knife or sharp instrument. In this table 'offences involving a knife' refers to the use of a knife or sharp instrument. Total of selected serious offences only include the five offence types shown in this table. (2) Four police forces include unbroken bottle and glass offences in their returns, which are outside the scope of this special collection. As such, data for these forces are not directly comparable to data for other forces. The four forces are: West Midlands, Surrey, Sussex and the British Transport Police. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B2: Knife and sharp instrument offences by police force area, English regions and Wales 2008-09 and 2009-10( 1) 
			  Recorded crime 
			  Police force area( 2)  2008-09  2009-10 
			 Cleveland 207 227 
			 Durham 152 120 
			 Northumbria 470 401 
			  North-e ast region 829 748 
			
			 Cheshire 341 276 
			 Cumbria 87 98 
			 Greater Manchester 2,835 2,361 
			 Lancashire 843 622 
			 Merseyside 892 798 
			  North-west region 4,998 4,155 
			
			 Humberside 369 357 
			 North Yorkshire 225 205 
			 South Yorkshire 648 571 
			 West Yorkshire 1,273 1,311 
			  Yorkshire and the Humber region 2,515 2,444 
			
			 Derbyshire 327 317 
			 Leicestershire 476 412 
			 Lincolnshire 169 176 
			 Northamptonshire 396 339 
			 Nottinghamshire 940 767 
			  East midlands region 2,308 2,011 
			
			 Staffordshire 455 439 
			 Warwickshire 223 157 
			 West Mercia 341 318 
			 West midlands 3,682 3,216 
			  West midlands region 4,701 4,130 
			
			 Bedfordshire 458 390 
			 Cambridgeshire 402 360 
			 Essex 730 679 
			 Hertfordshire 177 128 
			 Norfolk 130 201 
			 Suffolk 200 178 
			  East of England region 2,097 1,936 
			
			 London, City of 26 10 
			 Metropolitan 12,233 12,560 
			  London region 12,259 12,570 
			
			 Hampshire 592 582 
			 Kent 553 377 
			 Surrey 130 50 
			 Sussex 728 681 
			 Thames Valley 1,221 1,206 
			  South-east region 3,224 2,896 
			
			 Avon and Somerset 935 790 
			 Devon and Cornwall 395 400 
			 Dorset 164 176 
			 Gloucestershire 181 157 
			 Wiltshire 200 157 
			  South-west region 1,875 1,680 
			
			 Dyfed-Powys 95 73 
			 Gwent 126 156 
			 North Wales 136 97 
			 South Wales 571 439 
			  Wales 928 765 
			
			 British Transport Police 346 231 
			
			 England and Wales 36,080 33,566 
			 (1) Police recorded knife and sharp instrument offences data are submitted via an additional special collection. Other offences exist that are not shown in this table that may include the use of a knife or sharp instrument. In this table 'offences involving a knife' refers to the use of a knife or sharp instrument. Total of selected serious offences only include the five offence types shown in this table. (2) Four police forces include unbroken bottle and glass offences in their returns, which are outside the scope of this special collection. As such, data for these forces are not directly comparable to data for other forces. The four forces are: West Midlands, Surrey, Sussex and the British Transport Police.

UK Border Agency: Personnel

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff she expects to be employed by the UK Border Agency in each of the four years of the comprehensive spending review period.

Theresa May: holding answer 15 November 2010
	The priority of the agency remains to secure the border and to control migration while we play our part in reducing the public deficit. The agency's overall commitment is to cut its budget by up to 20% in real terms over the next four years and reduce headcount by around 5,200. Detailed budgets have not yet been finalised and so I cannot provide a four-year profile.

Vetting

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2010,  Official Report, column 316, on voluntary organisations, what progress she has made in reviewing the criminal records vetting regime.

Lynne Featherstone: I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement made by the Home Secretary on 22 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 77-78WS. This statement announced terms of reference for the review of the Criminal Records Regime and the Vetting and Barring Scheme. The initial findings will be announced early in the new year.

SCOTLAND

Daylight Saving Bill

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what  (a) formal and  (b) informal consultation his Department has undertaken on the provisions of the Daylight Saving Bill; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland has written to, and remains in contact with, a number of organisations representing groups most likely to be affected by any change to British summer time, to seek their views. As the Prime Minister has already made clear, there can be no change to existing policy without the agreement of all parts of the United Kingdom, including Scotland. That agreement is not in place.

Post Office

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps his Department has taken to identify those of its services that could be provided through the Post Office network.

David Mundell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis) to question 24941 on 22 November 2010,  Official Report, column 2W.

Post Office

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the monetary value was of contracts between his Department and  (a) Post Office Ltd and  (b) Royal Mail in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) each year since 2004-05.

David Mundell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Brandon Lewis) to question 24940 on 22 November 2010,  Official Report, column 2W.

Summer Time

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the contribution by the Minister of State for Scotland of 16 November 2010,  Official Report, column 865, on summer time (Scotland), what evidence his Department evaluated in determining that public opinion in Scotland on double summer time is changing.

David Mundell: The evidence mentioned above was introduced to the debate by my hon. Friend the Member for Castle Point (Rebecca Harris).

Summer Time

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the contribution by the Minister of State for Scotland of 16 November 2010,  Official Report, column 863, on summertime (Scotland), what methodology he used to determine that the majority of inhabitants of Scotland are opposed to the implementation of double summer time.

David Mundell: The implementation of single double summer time in the UK has remained a perennial debate since the last experiment to alter British summer time was abandoned four decades ago. As I said recently in the House, it remains the case that those who support the campaign to adopt single double summer time in the United Kingdom have to win the argument with the public in Scotland, with the body politic and with civic society.

TRANSPORT

Office of Traffic Commissioners

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to amend the  (a) role and  (b) responsibilities of the Office of Traffic Commissioners.

Michael Penning: We will be completing implementation of the Local Transport Act 2008 provisions that will create a 'pool' of Traffic Commissioners that are able to act in all traffic areas and amend the grounds on which an individual Commissioner can be removed from office.

Roads: Accidents

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many dogs were reported to have been killed or injured in a road traffic incident in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Michael Penning: The Department for Transport collates information on animals identified as carriageway hazards in reported personal injury road accidents. However, information on the types of animals involved in accidents and whether they are killed or injured, is not collected.
	The number of reported personal injury road accidents involving animals in the carriageway, in England and Wales, 2005-09, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Reported personal injury road accidents involving an animal( 1)  in the carriageway: England and Wales 2005-09 
			   Accidents 
			 2005 947 
			 2006 977 
			 2007 909 
			 2008 769 
			 2009 760 
			 (1) Excludes ridden horses.

Roads: Safety

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to update the 10-year Road Safety Strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The UK already has some of the safest roads in the world, but the coalition is considering how to make them even safer. We will produce a new strategic framework for road safety that sets out the Government's vision for road safety, national measures, and how we will work with others to achieve this. We will be discussing this with stakeholders and intend to publish a strategy early next year.

Transport: Aberdeenshire

Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many major transport infrastructure projects have been completed in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire local authority areas since 1980.

Norman Baker: The provision of such infrastructure projects is devolved to the Scottish Government. This is therefore a matter for Scottish Ministers.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Football: South Africa

Graham Evans: To ask the Attorney-General how much his Department spent on attendance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Edward Garnier: Nothing.
	The Crown Prosecution service sent a senior Crown Prosecutor to the World Cup with the English police delegation. Their role was to liaise with South African authorities on tackling violent disorder offences involving English nationals. The Home Office funded the prosecutor's travel, accommodation and expense costs.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departmental Grants

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department has allocated in grants for  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11; and how much such funding he plans to allocate for 2011-12.

Bob Neill: The total maximum amounts payable by the Department for Communities and Local Government for grants above £1 million are:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2009-10 37,137.1 
			 2010-11 34,442.7 
		
	
	The totals for formula grant paid by my Department (which comprises revenue support grant and national non-domestic rates) for 2011-12 onwards were published in table 2.8 of the spending review 2010 document. The other grants for 2011-12 and 2012-13 which have so far been confirmed to local authorities were outlined in table 2 of my reply to the hon. Member of 23 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 198-200W. Details of other grant programmes will be released in due course.

Departmental Lobbying

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent from the public purse on influencing public policy through  (a) employing external (i) public affairs companies, (ii) strategic consultancies and (iii) corporate communications firms,  (b) external marketing and  (c) other activities in each of the last 10 years.

Bob Neill: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, as part of the new Government's transparency agenda, all spending over £500 can be found online on the departmental website for 2008-09 onwards. I also refer my hon. Friend to the Secretary of State's press release of 5 August 2010 which highlighted the unacceptable spending by government arms' length bodies on lobbying government and HM Opposition. We have instructed these bodies to cancel their lobbying contracts.

Departmental Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what regulations sponsored by his Department have been revoked in the last six months;
	(2)  what new regulations sponsored by his Department have been introduced through  (a) primary legislation and  (b) statutory instrument in the last six months.

Bob Neill: We are committed to removing needless bureaucracy and unnecessary burdens contained within existing secondary legislation and other forms of regulation. We have already announced various changes including the suspension and impending abolition of Home Information Packs, the abolition of Comprehensive Area Assessment and the intended consolidation of planning (development control) procedures and building regulations. The forthcoming Localism Bill will contain additional measures to free local government from central and regional control so that it can deliver services according to local needs. These measures will include radical reform of the planning system to give neighbourhoods greater ability to determine the shape of the places in which their inhabitants live.
	New regulatory burdens on businesses are given full consideration through the new One-In-One-Out process, which ensures that the costs imposed by new regulations are offset by reductions elsewhere.
	New burdens on local government are also fully taken into account through our New Burdens Assessments.
	Later this year we will publish our Regulatory Forward Programme which will provide details of all forthcoming regulatory and deregulatory measures.
	With this in mind, in the last six months 40 statutory instruments (orders and regulations) have been revoked in full and seven partially revoked. A list of all revocations has been placed in the Library of the House.
	No new primary legislation has been introduced and 21 new statutory instruments have been introduced, many of which are deregulatory. A table with details of the statutory instruments that have been introduced has been placed in the Library of the House.

Departmental Written Questions

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of questions tabled to the Secretary of State for written answer on a named day were answered substantively before or on the day named for answer  (a) in Session 2009-10 and  (b) since May 2010; how many such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 had not received a substantive answer by 18 November 2010; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to his Department of answering a question for written answer on a named day on the day named for answer in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions for the 2009-10 Session. This information will be submitted to the Procedure Committee shortly.
	In the period 25 May to 12 November 2010, my Department received 374 written questions for answer on a named day of which 325 (87%) were answered on the due date. All 374 questions have now been answered.
	My Department does not estimate the cost of answering written questions. For information on the annual indexation exercise of the cost of parliamentary questions conducted by HM Treasury, I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement made by the then Exchequer Secretary (Sarah McCarthy-Fry) on 20 January 2010,  Official Report, column 15WS.

Departmental Written Questions

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of questions tabled to the Secretary of State for ordinary written answer  (a) in Session 2009-10 and  (b) since May 2010 were answered within (i) seven days and (ii) 14 days of tabling; how many such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 remained unanswered by 18 November 2010; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to his Department of answering a question for ordinary written answer within seven days of tabling in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions for the 2009-10 Session. This information will be submitted to the Procedure Committee shortly.
	In the period 25 May to 12 November 2010, my Department received 1,016 ordinary written questions of which 948 (94%) were answered within five sitting days. Five of the 1,016 questions remain unanswered. Information on the number of ordinary written questions answered within seven and 14 days could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	My Department does not estimate the cost of answering written questions. For information on the annual indexation exercise of the cost of parliamentary questions conducted by HM Treasury, I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement made by the then Exchequer Secretary (Sarah McCarthy-Fry) on 20 January 2010,  Official Report, column 15WS.

Fire Services: Working Hours

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will maintain the exemption for full-time and retained duty system firefighters from the European Union Working Time Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Neill: This Government committed in the coalition agreement to limit the application of the Working Time Directive in the United Kingdom. Whole-time and retained duty system firefighters do not have an exemption from the Directive apart from in specified circumstances, but like other UK workers have the flexibility to opt out of the 48-hour limit to the working week set by the Directive. The Government recognises that losing the opt-out could have a major impact on fire and rescue services and will continue to stand firm on its retention.

Housing: Construction

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward proposals for alternative measures to replace regional housing grants for the purpose of supporting regional housing; and what recent representations he has received on the use of funds from existing regional housing grants.

Grant Shapps: In the spending review we announced investment of over £6.5 billion in housing. This includes over £2 billion to make existing social homes decent and almost £4.5 billion investment in new affordable housing to deliver up to 150,000 affordable homes. We are giving housing associations much more flexibility on rents and use of assets, so our aspiration is to deliver as many as homes as possible through our investment and reforms. We will be publishing details on the new delivery model in the new year.
	On 11 November we announced councils and their arm's length management organisations that have a significant backlog of decent homes work will be eligible for funding from a new single decent homes funding stream. The Homes and Communities Agency are consulting on proposals for allocating this funding.
	Funding for private sector renewal, formerly part of the regional housing pot, is now a matter for local authorities. We have given them significantly greater freedom and control over budgets. They can continue to provide this support where it fits with local priorities.
	We have also launched a consultation on the New Homes Bonus which will commence in April 2011 and will match fund the additional council tax on new homes and properties brought back into use for each of the following six years with an additional amount for affordable homes. The consultation is available at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/newhomesbonusconsult
	This will be a powerful, simple, transparent and permanent incentive for local authorities to increase their aspirations for housing growth. We have set aside £1 billion of funding and further funding will come from formula grant.
	Some representations in the form of ministerial correspondence have been received in relation to private sector renewal funding.

Housing: Construction

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make it his policy that any funding awarded to county councils under the New Homes Bonus Scheme is spent on projects approved by the district council in whose area the new homes will be built; and if he will make a statement.

Grant Shapps: The Government do not propose to tell local authorities how and when to spend the funding received from the New Homes Bonus. The Government expects local authorities to work closely with their communities-and in particular the neighbourhoods most affected by growth-to understand their priorities for investment and to communicate how the money will be spent and the benefits it will bring.
	We are currently consulting on the New Homes Bonus scheme design:
	www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/newhomesbonusconsult

Peterborough City Council: Grants and Non-domestic Rates

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how much Peterborough city council unitary authority received in revenue support grant in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much Peterborough city council collected in national non-domestic rates in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Bob Neill: The following table shows both (a) the amount national non-domestic rates collected by, and (b) the amount of revenue support grant received by Peterborough between 2005-06 and 2009-10. The data are shown in £ million.
	
		
			   NNDR collected  Revenue support grant (£ million) 
			 2005-06 67.2 101.6 
			 2006-07 75.6 10.0 
			 2007-08 75.7 9.3 
			 2008-09 83.0 8.7 
			 2009-10 83.0 14.0 
		
	
	The data are as reported by local authorities. The national non-domestic rates figures are the net yield figures taken from the national non-domestic rates (NNDR3) outturn forms submitted annually by all billing authorities in England. The net yield is the amount of national non-domestic rates collected by an authority before the deduction of collection costs i.e. losses in collection, repayments in respect of previous years and the allowance for the cost of collection.
	The data for revenue support grant are taken from the Budget Requirement (BR1) forms submitted annually by all billing authorities in England. The revenue support grant figure for 2005-06 contains an element of funding for schools which was removed in subsequent years and paid as the dedicated schools grant.

Private Rented Housing

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties in  (a) England,  (b) Hyndburn and  (c) Haslingden are let by private landlords.

Grant Shapps: The latest data available, as set out in the English Housing Survey (EHS) Housing Stock Report 2008, published on 27 October 2010, show that approximately 3,300,000 properties are privately rented in England. The figures are not broken down to individual local authority level.
	The full survey report is available on the DCLG website at:
	www.communities.gov.uk

Radioactive Waste

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the granting of planning permission for new low-level nuclear waste disposal sites.

Bob Neill: Current planning policy on waste is set out in Planning Policy Statement 10: "Sustainable Waste Management". A planning application for a new low level nuclear waste disposal site will be determined in accordance with the statutory development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.
	DECC will shortly publish for consultation a new strategy for the management of low level radioactive waste from the non-nuclear industry.

JUSTICE

Civil Litigation

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the recommendations made by the review of civil litigation costs conducted by Lord Justice Jackson.

Jonathan Djanogly: As the Secretary of State for Justice informed the House on 15 November 2010,  Official Report, column 659, the Government have now published the consultation paper, 'Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs: Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's Recommendations'. The Government accept Lord Justice Jackson's assessment that the costs of civil litigation are too high and that the current arrangements impact disproportionately on defendants. Preliminary impact assessments were published alongside the consultation paper, available at:
	www.justice.gov.uk
	A final impact assessment will be published alongside the Government response next spring.

Departmental Food

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department has guidelines on ensuring that food used for his Department's official functions is of domestic origin.

Jonathan Djanogly: Where catering requirements have been approved, food must be purchased from an approved MoJ food contractor. All products supplied to the MOJ must comply with all current and subsequent relevant UK and EU legislation, regulations and directives.
	The legal framework governing public procurement is designed to ensure that public procurement is fair, transparent and not used to discriminate by setting up barriers to free trade.
	However, where United Kingdom supplies can meet the specifications set by the Ministry of Justice will avail of these products wherever this can be achieved without increasing overall costs.

Departmental Written Questions

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled to the Secretary of State for written answer on a named day were answered substantively before or on the day named for answer  (a) in Session 2009-10 and  (b) since May 2010; how many such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 had not received a substantive answer by 18 November 2010; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to his Department of answering a question for written answer on a named day on the day named for answer in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled to the Secretary of State for ordinary written answer  (a) in Session 2009-10 and  (b) since May 2010 were answered within (i) seven days and (ii) 14 days of tabling; how many such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 remained unanswered by 18 November 2010; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to his Department of answering a question for ordinary written answer within seven days of tabling in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jonathan Djanogly: The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions for the 2009-10 Session. This information will be submitted to the Procedure Committee shortly.
	In the current Session since May 2010 MoJ has answered 185 named day questions, of those 183 (98.92%) were answered on the day named for answer. Eight of the 185 were answered by either giving an undertaking to write or stating the answer would partially or fully breach the disproportionate cost threshold. There were no outstanding named day questions on 18 November 2010. During the same session MOJ has also answered 1,123 questions for ordinary written answer, of those 1,086 (96.71%) were answered within five sitting days and 29 (2.58%) were answered within 10 sitting days. There were two questions unanswered on 18 November 2010.
	The figures have been drawn from MoJ's PQ database, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	The average cost for answering ordinary written and named day questions in MoJ is not held. However, Her Majesty's Treasury conducts an annual indexation exercise of the cost of written and oral parliamentary questions so as to ensure that these average costs are increased in line with increases in underlying costs. The estimated cost for written questions that have applied since 20 January 2010 is £154.

Domestic Violence

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what average period elapsed between the issue of a community order with a condition of a domestic violence programme and the commencement of that programme in each probation area in the latest period for which figures are available.

Crispin Blunt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Mrs Grant) on 22 October 2010,  Official Report, column 905W.
	Waiting times for programmes are managed locally by each probation trust and prison. This information is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by obtaining information held on offender files or on local data systems, validating it, and then collating it in a common format in order to provide a response.

Prisons: Drugs

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders serving a prison sentence  (a) are receiving and  (b) have received treatment for drug addiction.

Crispin Blunt: The Ministry of Justice does not record data in the form requested. However prison and health records show that in 2009-10:
	health services delivered 60,067 clinical interventions for drug addiction in prisons;
	CARAT (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare) services performed 66,459 initial assessment for adult prisoners;
	10,206 prisoners commenced accredited drug treatment programmes; and
	6,586 young people were assessed by the Young People's Substance Misuse Service (YPSMS).
	These data are drawn from administrative IT systems and are subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale assessment and recording system.

Probation Service

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of reductions in expenditure on the Probation Service on the provision of  (a) probation programmes,  (b) unpaid work and  (c) approved premises places;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect of reductions in expenditure on the Probation Service on the length of time between the issue of a community order and a visit by an appropriately-trained probation officer to the subject of the order.

Crispin Blunt: Internal resource allocations for the spending review 2010 period have not yet been decided, but we have made it clear that we expect savings to be achieved in large part through improvements in efficiency and by streamlining administration. We will publish a Green Paper before the end of the year, setting out our plans to reform sentencing and rehabilitate offenders more effectively.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Colombia: Homicide

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of journalists killed in Colombia in 2010.

Henry Bellingham: Official figures from the Colombian Government show that between January and October 2010 one journalist was killed in Colombia. These figures arc supported by the Colombian Foundation for Freedom of the Press (FLIP). Our embassy in Bogota has received reports of the killing of two further journalists, although these reportedly had no connection with the victims' work.
	We are concerned about the safety of human rights defenders in Colombia, including journalists. We regularly raise our concerns with the Colombian Government, including at a recent meeting between our ambassador and the head of the Vice President's Unit for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.

Departmental Written Questions

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of questions tabled to the Secretary of State for written answer on a named day were answered substantively before or on the day named for answer  (a) in Session 2009-10 and  (b) since May 2010; how many such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 had not received a substantive answer by 18 November 2010; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to his Department of answering a question for written answer on a named day on the day named for answer in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Lidington: The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions for the 2009-10 session. This information will be submitted to the Procedure Committee shortly.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) records on answering questions are calculated on the basis of sitting days, not calendar days, in accordance with the convention that questions should be answered within a working week.
	Since 25 May 2010, the FCO has received 185 questions tabled for written answer on a named day, of which 167 (90%) were answered substantively on time.
	All such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 had received a substantive answer by 18 November 2010.
	Answering questions tabled for written answer on a named day with short deadlines is challenging for the FCO, as officials in London often have to consult colleagues in other time zones around the world. However, the FCO has made no estimate of the average cost of answering questions.

Departmental Written Questions

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of questions tabled to the Secretary of State for ordinary written answer  (a) in Session 2009-10 and  (b) since May 2010 were answered within (i) seven days and (ii) 14 days of tabling; how many such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 remained unanswered by 18 November 2010; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to his Department of answering a question for ordinary written answer within seven days of tabling in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Lidington: The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions for the 2009-10 Session. This information will be submitted to the Procedure Committee shortly.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s records on answering questions are calculated on the basis of sitting days, not calendar days, in accordance with the convention that questions should be answered within a working week.
	In the current Session up to 12 November 2010, the FCO received 789 questions for ordinary written answer of which 605 (77%) were answered within five sitting days, and 735 (93%) were answered within 10 sitting days. 12 questions remained unanswered.
	We have made no estimate of the average cost of answering a question for ordinary written answer within seven days of tabling.

EU Institutions: Audit

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to increase the effectiveness of auditing practices in EU institutions; and what recent discussions he has had with  (a) the European Commission and  (b) his EU counterparts in the Council of Ministers on that matter.

Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are disappointed that the European Court of Auditors has been unable to grant a positive Statement of Assurance on the financial management of EU funds for the 16(th) year in succession. Although the Government recognise that the European Court of Auditors' recent report on the 2009 EU Budget shows some improvements compared to last year, we remain concerned that the pace of reform is too slow.
	The Government believe that more needs to be done by all concerned to improve EU financial management and achieve a positive Statement of Assurance. The Chancellor of the Exchequer made these points at the meeting of EU member states' Finance Ministers on 17 November.
	The Government will continue to champion reform through engagement with European institutions and other member states. The Economic Secretary met with the European Commissioner responsible for financial management, Commissioner Semeta, during a visit to Brussels on 14 October, and highlighted the Government's determination to have increased transparency and accountability in EU spending.

Israel: OECD

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 494-5W, on Israel: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which OECD documents citing Israeli data include  (a) the full footnote and  (b) each truncated version of that footnote.

Alistair Burt: The footnote is used in every Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development document or paper using (Israeli) data on the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Debts

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the level of debt relief that  (a) Sudan and  (b) Zimbabwe will receive in each of the next four years.

Danny Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have made provision in the 2010 spending review for debt relief for both Sudan and Zimbabwe. A judgment was made that there is a realistic probability that these countries will meet the conditions required for debt relief during SR10.

Overseas Aid

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effects on decision-making and oversight of his Department's country programmes of co-location of his Department's posts and those of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Alan Duncan: No specific assessment has been undertaken of the effects of co-location with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on decision-making and oversight of the Department for International Development's (DFID's) country programmes. Co-location is the preferred option for both DFID and the FCO. Each co-location proposal is assessed against financial and non-financial criteria with a focus on achieving maximum value for money
	DFID is currently working with other Government Departments with an overseas presence to look at ways the efficiency and effectiveness of corporate services can be improved by merging functions such as transport, security and facilities management.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Industrial Health and Safety

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the cost of employment was of  (a) health and safety and  (b) risk assessment staff in the House of Commons Service in each year since 1997.

John Thurso: The House of Commons employs two full-time safety advisers. The cost of this service is shared with the House of Lords. Over the last three years, the cost to the House of Commons has been:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2007-08 68,400 
			 2008-09 73,600 
			 2009-10 72,000 
		
	
	Figures for earlier years are not available, but would have been broadly similar. Duties related to health and safety risk assessments are incorporated into line management responsibilities and individual job descriptions. It is not possible separately to identify the cost of these activities.

Outreach Programme

Caroline Nokes: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, 
	(1)  by what measures the outcomes of the Outreach programme are assessed;
	(2)  how many people have attended outreach events in the last 12 months;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of outreach events have directly involved members of the public, excluding staff of local authorities and non-departmental public bodies, in the last 12 months.

John Thurso: The Parliamentary Outreach service aims to spread awareness of the work, processes and relevance of the institution of Parliament, encouraging greater engagement between the public and the House of Commons and House of Lords. Since its launch, the level of demand for outreach sessions has increased continuously. Parliamentary Outreach now employs two main methods of increasing levels of public understanding and participation: (a) regional parliamentary training sessions, and (b) sessions explaining how to engage with select committees and the process of public bills.
	Over the past 12 months, the Parliamentary Outreach team has run 456 events, of which around 4.39% (20) were run in partnership with local authorities and non-departmental bodies. The majority of events are run in partnership with organisations in the voluntary and community sectors, ensuring maximum reach and value for money. Some 13,000 people have attended outreach events during the past 12 months. The vast majority of attendees are from organisations which have either a strategic remit to increase civic engagement or a direct objective to engage with parliamentary processes. As the partner organisations organise the attendance at the regional events, it is not possible to give an accurate figure of the percentage of attendees who are employed by local authorities or non-departmental government bodies. Analysis of the attendees at the Public Bill workshops in the last two months shows that 9.4% of those who registered to attend are employed in these fields.
	The success of each outreach event is measured by evaluating whether the participants feel better equipped to engage with Parliament. At least 98% of attendees at the recent Public Bill workshops have stated that they felt better equipped to engage with Parliament and at least 94% rated the workshop as good or excellent.

Outreach Programme

Caroline Nokes: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how much has been spent on the Outreach programme in each financial year since it was established.

John Thurso: I refer the hon. Lady to the answer given on 17 November 2010,  Official Report, column 844W, to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies).

Palace of Westminster: Gas

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2010,  Official Report, column 953W, on Palace of Westminster: gas, what professional or technical advice has been obtained on the contained gas leaks from gas lanterns in New Palace Yard; and whether there have been discussions with other operators of such lanterns on best practice for the prevention of gas leaks.

John Thurso: The Parliamentary Estates Directorate retains an onsite specialist "gas safe" contractor for day-to-day technical advice on all gas-related items, as well as the services of a specialist lighting company, which still manufacture gas lamps. The lighting company are currently refurbishing one of the gas globes in New Palace Yard following damage by a lorry.
	The Parliamentary Estates Directorate is fully aware of possible reasons for leaks (faulty solenoid, failed mantles, broken glazing, pipe work leaks, etc) having maintained these gas lamps since 1991. It is recognised that the gas lamps are in need of significant refurbishment, which is planned for the summer recess of 2011-12.
	In the meantime, the Parliamentary Estates Directorate will carry out an additional overhaul of the gas lighting.

Palace of Westminster: Gas

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, who is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the gas lanterns on the parliamentary estate.

John Thurso: The Parliamentary Estates Directorate, in the Department of Facilities, is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the gas lanterns on the parliamentary estate. Due to the statutory nature of gas appliances all work is carried out by a specialist "gas safe" contractor who has maintained the gas lamps for 20 years.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions a foreign government has refused a request from his Department to transfer or give access to  (a) technology and  (b) software code used by UK forces in Afghanistan since 2001.

Peter Luff: holding answer 23 November 2010
	Foreign governments may on occasions provide access to technology and software only to their own forces, sometimes for a set period, for national security or foreign policy reasons or for allowing for their own exploitation of research and development.
	The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, if the information was available, I would withhold it as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Counter-terrorism: Finance

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 12 November 2010,  Official Report, column 501W on defence: expenditure, how much funding he has allocated from his Department's core budget to counter-terrorism activities in  (a) 2010-11,  (b) 2011-12,  (c) 2012-13,  (d) 2013-14 and  (e) 2014-15.

Nick Harvey: The Ministry of Defence does not separately identify the specific sums from the core budget that will be spent on counter terrorism activities. There are a wide range of capabilities that the MOD holds and similarly a wide range of activities which the MOD undertakes as part of core business that may contribute towards counter terrorism. The majority of MOD counter-terrorism activities are, however, provided in support of other Government Departments, for which it is reimbursed.

Defence: Procurement

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the projects identified in the National Audit Office's report on major projects include  (a) technology and  (b) software code over which his Department does not have full access for future upgrades and maintenance support.

Peter Luff: holding answer 23 November 2010
	There are a number of projects mentioned in the NAO's report on major projects for which the Department does not, or does not yet have full access to the technology or software code to provide the required upgrades and maintenance support. However, where that is the case, we are either negotiating to obtain access or we have an appropriate arrangement with the holder of the technology or software code to provide the required upgrade and maintenance support, or the project is at an early stage where we would not yet expect such matters to be settled. I am withholding the information regarding the specific situation for each project as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Military Aircraft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many of the 135 Tornados in the UK inventory have been modified for operations in Afghanistan; and what the estimated remaining in-service cost is for the Tornado fleet up to 2023;
	(2)  how many of the 79 GR9 Harriers in the UK inventory have been modified for operations in Afghanistan; and what the estimated remaining in-service cost is for the Harrier fleet up to 2023.

Penny Mordaunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what estimate he made of the net financial saving consequent on removing the Tornado fleet from service and retaining the Harrier fleet  (a) in the next four years,  (b) during the anticipated life of the Tornado fleet and  (c) during the anticipated life of a retained Harrier fleet; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he made of the financial saving consequent on removing the Tornado fleet from service  (a) not taking account of and  (b) taking into account the effects of that decision on other capabilities (i) in each of the next four years and (ii) during the anticipated life of the current fleet; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Luff: In the interests of long-term financial affordability, the strategic defence and security review (SDSR) determined that we would transition to a two platform fast jet fleet consisting of the highly capable multi-role aircraft, Typhoon and joint strike fighter. In the transition period the difficult decision has been taken to remove Harrier from service in 2011.
	The overriding factor in deciding between removing either the Tornado GR4 or Harrier was the ability to support operations in Afghanistan. The Harrier fleet would have been too small to support Afghanistan operations at current levels, notwithstanding Carrier Strike and other contingent operations. Conversely, the Tornado GR4 force-even at its reduced size-will be significantly larger than the current Harrier force and would allow continuous UK fast jet close air support to forces in Afghanistan and the ability to support concurrent operations. It also has a number of key capability advantages over the Harrier GR9 including:
	greater payload and range and integration of capabilities such as Storm Shadow;
	fully integrated dual mode Brimstone;
	the Raptor reconnaissance pod; and
	a cannon.
	We will retain a reduced Tornado GR4 fleet that will drawdown gradually to ensure there is no effect on operations in Afghanistan as we transition to Typhoon and joint strike fighter, from which we will also regenerate our Carrier Strike capability. In line with these transitions, we currently plan to take the Tornado GR4 out of service in 2021. This updates the out of service date and associated costs in the reply given to the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead in another place by Lord Astor on 16 November 2010,  Official Report, House of Lords, column WA178, which were based on pre-SDSR plans. The Prime Minister received full advice on the options regarding our fast jet fleet as part of the SDSR process.
	The MOD made estimates of cost savings accrued from measures considered in the SDSR for the purpose of formulating policy. Some of these have been published to help inform the public debate. Release of further detail may prejudice the MOD's negotiating position with its commercial suppliers. Furthermore, final savings figures will depend on detailed implementation, which will generally be subject to full consultation with all relevant parties, including the trade unions and the devolved Administrations, as well as the results of mandatory assessments on the impact that the measures will have on sustainability, equality and diversity and health and safety. The MOD is therefore not prepared to release more detailed savings or updated in-service cost figures at this time.
	The MOD calculates the full cost of aircraft per flying hour. The current rates for our fast jets are shown in the table. These figures include forward and depth servicing, fuel costs, crew costs, training costs, cost of capital charge, depreciation and amortisation. The Typhoon cost per flying hour reflects the build up of the fleet with small numbers of aircraft currently in-service. This cost will comparatively reduce as the fleet builds and is expected to be similar to our other fast jet fleets when we reach a steady state position.
	
		
			  Financial year 2010-11 
			  Aircraft  Cost per hour (£) 
			 Tornado GR4 35,000 
			 Typhoon 70,000 
			 Harrier GR7/GR9 37,000 
			 Tornado F3 43,000 
		
	
	These costs will need to be reviewed once we have finalised the SDSR decisions and how they will be implemented.
	The Tornado aircraft fleet, consisting of the GR4 ground attack and F3 air defence variants, is supported by two availability based maintenance contracts. The Availability Transformation: Tornado Aircraft Contract (ATTAC), for which BAE Systems is the prime contractor, provides Depth Support until 2016 and has a total value of £1.5 billion. The Turbo-Union RB199 engine which powers the Tornado aircraft is supported by the RB199 Operational Contract for Engine Transformation 2 (ROCET 2) awarded to Rolls-Royce until 2025. The contract has a total value of £690 million. There are no penalty clauses in either contract. However, both contracts include a number of conditions that allow for early termination. Any costs associated with the implementation of these conditions following the SDSR outcome are being negotiated with the contractor.
	Under the Capability Upgrade Strategy (Pilot) programme approved in December 2007, 96 Tornado GR4 aircraft will receive capability upgrades between 2011 and 2014 at an estimated cost of around £300 million. This number of aircraft is sufficient to maintain the operational capability of the Tornado GR4 Forward Available Fleet until OSD. There are currently no plans for the aircraft to receive any further capability upgrades after 2014.
	For the number of Tornado GR4 modified for Operations in Afghanistan, I refer the noble Lord to the reply given to the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead in another place by Lord Astor on 4 November 2010,  Official Report, House of Lords, column WA427. To optimise the further 17 Tornado aircraft required for operations in Afghanistan will cost around £0.5 million. The 15 Harrier GR9 aircraft that have returned from Afghanistan would require refitting of equipment to be made ready for operations.

HEALTH

Care Homes

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will assess the merits of bringing forward proposals to put in place further transparency and accountability mechanisms in respect of its assessment of care homes.

Paul Burstow: A new registration system for regulated adult social care services, under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, came into force on 1 October 2010. The Care Quality Commission is currently developing a new approach whereby information about regulated services will be made available.
	Proposals for improving transparency and local accountability of adult social care were set out for consultation in "Transparency in outcomes: a framework for adult social care", published on 16 November 2010. This publication envisages a new approach, which incentivises improvement in quality, based on transparent information on outcomes at the local level. The role of regulation and assessment of social care providers is discussed in this context. A response to the consultation will be published in March 2011.

Care Homes: Personnel

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans his Department has to increase the staff-to-patient ratio in state care homes.

Paul Burstow: Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, all providers of regulated health and adult social care activities, whether in the public or independent sectors, must register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and meet a set of 16 requirements of essential safety and quality.
	The registration requirements set out that providers must take steps to ensure that at all times there are sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff and that staff are supported in relation to their responsibilities by receiving appropriate training, professional development, supervision and appraisal.
	Failure to comply with this requirement is an offence and CQC has a wide range of independent enforcement powers under the new registration system to ensure compliance. These powers include the issue of a warning notice that requires improvement within a specified time, prosecution and the power to cancel a provider's registration, removing its ability to engage in regulated activities.

Care Homes: Personnel

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to take further steps to ensure that care homes are staffed by  (a) appropriately qualified and  (b) adequately trained professionals.

Paul Burstow: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England. CQC's role is to provide assurance of safety and quality for people who use services and patients.
	Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the 2008 Act), providers of regulated health and adult social care activities must register with CQC and meet a set of 16 requirements of essential safety and quality. The registration requirements, set in secondary legislation, include a requirement that providers must take steps to ensure that at all times there are sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff, and that staff are supported in relation to their responsibilities by receiving appropriate training, professional development, supervision and appraisal.
	Failure to comply with the registration requirements is an offence, and under the 2008 Act CQC has a wide range of enforcement powers that it can use if a provider is not compliant.
	These include the issue of a warning notice that requires improvement within a specified time, prosecution, and the power to cancel a provider's registration, removing its ability to provide regulated activities.
	In addition, Skills for Care is working with employers to ensure that care workers can access continued professional development, (Skills for Care is an employer led work force development organisation for adult social care which is largely funded by the Department, and the partner of the Sector Skills Council in England).
	National Occupational Standards describe the skills, knowledge and values care workers should meet for a variety of settings at different levels.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many hospital bed days there were for  (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and  (b) all respiratory diseases in each primary care trust area in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many hospital admissions there were for  (a) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and  (b) respiratory diseases in each primary care trust area in the latest period for which figures are available.

Simon Burns: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Mansfield (Mr Meale) on 9 November 2010,  Official Report, column 236W.

Dental Services

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of people in  (a) Bolton and  (b) England who have access to an NHS dentist.

Simon Burns: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Information on the proportion of patients seen by a national health service dentist in the previous 24 months, in England, is available in Table E2 of Annex 3 of the 'NHS Dental Statistics for England 2009/10' report. Information is available at quarterly intervals, from 31 March 2006 to 30 June 2010 and is provided by primary care trust and by strategic health authority.
	This report, published on 18 August 2010, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0910

Dental Services: Bolton

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received on the availability of NHS dentists in Bolton.

Simon Burns: The Department has not received any recent representations regarding the availability of national health service dentists in Bolton.

Dental Services: Bolton

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS dentists there are in Bolton.

Simon Burns: The numbers of dentists with national health service activity during the year ending 31 March 2010 in the Bolton primary care trust (PCT) area are 134.
	This information is contained within table G1 of annex 3 of the "NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2009-10" report. Information is provided for England and by strategic health authority and PCT. This information is based on the dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006. This report, published on 18 August 2010, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0910
	Following a consultation exercise, this measure is based on a revised methodology and therefore supersedes any previously published workforce figures relating to the new dental contractual arrangements. It is not comparable to the information collected under the old contractual arrangements. This revised methodology counts the number of dental performers with NHS activity recorded via FP17 claim forms in each year ending 31 March.
	These published figures relate to a headcount and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.

Dental Services: Manpower

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to review staffing levels in dental services; and what mechanisms he plans to put in place to ensure that adequate personnel are available over the next five years.

Simon Burns: We are currently undertaking a dental work force review, which will include a sample survey of dentists' and dental care professionals' working patterns and career plans. Initial results should be available by next spring.

Dental Services: Training

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental schools provide training for dentists in England; and how many places were offered by each dental school in each year since 2005.

Simon Burns: The information that is available centrally for the 11 university dental schools now operating in England is for students admitted:
	
		
			   Undergraduates admitted academic year beginning in September 
			  Dental school  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11( 1) 
			 Kings College London 168 163 167 155 165 163 
			 Bristol 75 69 73 73 73 85 
			 Manchester 79 71 79 73 82 78 
			 Queen Mary London 82 107 81 76 79 84 
			 Liverpool 71 88 75 81 81 82 
			 Leeds 90 88 89 94 88 92 
			 Sheffield 74 76 76 80 84 80 
			 Newcastle 82 93 86 86 77 89 
			 Birmingham 82 84 90 72 86 75 
			 SW Peninsula(2) - - 56 64 58 64 
			 Central Lancashire(2) - - 32 30 32 32 
			 (1) Provisional. (2) Opened September 2007.

Departmental Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what regulations sponsored by his Department have been revoked in the last six months;
	(2)  what new regulations sponsored by his Department have been introduced through  (a) primary legislation and  (b) statutory instrument in the last six months.

Simon Burns: In the last six months, the Department has revoked the following statutory instruments (Sis):
	Tyne Port Health Authority Order 1990 (SI 1990/1119); and
	The Rice Products from the United States of America (Restriction on First Placing on the Market) (England) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/622).
	We will also be continuing to scrutinise our stock of regulation and pipeline measures inherited from the previous administration with a view to finding OUTs, for the One-in, One-out regulatory management system.
	In the last six months, no new primary legislation has been passed. The regulations and orders which have been introduced through statutory instrument are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Title  SI Number 
			 The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Consequential Amendments) (Wales) Order 2010 2010/1593 
			 The National Health Service Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2010 2010/1634 
			 The Rice Products from the United States of America (Restriction on First Placing on the Market) (England) (Revocation) Regulations 2010 2010/1585 
			 The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Consequential Amendments No.3) Order 2010 2010/2224 
			 The Medicines for Human Use (Prescribing by EEA Practitioners) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 2010/1673 
			 The Mayday Healthcare National Health Service Trust (Establishment) Amendment Order 2010 2010/2230 
			 The South Downs Health National Health Service Trust (Establishment) Amendment Order 2010 2010/2229 
			 The Community Care, Services for Carers and Children's Services (Direct Payments) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 2010/2246 
			 The Contaminants in Food (England) Regulations 2010 2010/2228 
			 The Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) Regulations 2010 2010/2225 
			 The Feed (Sampling and Analysis and Specified Undesirable Substances) (England) Regulations 2010 2010/2280 
			 The Foodstuffs Suitable for People Intolerant to Gluten (England) Regulations 2010 2010/2281 
			 The Food Irradiation (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 2010/2312 
			 The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs etc.) Amendment Regulations 2010 2010/2389 
			 The Health Protection Agency (Amendment) Regulations 2010 2010/2540 
			 The Animal Feed (England) Regulations 2010 2010/2503 
			 The National Health Service (Functions of Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts and Administration Arrangements) (England) Amendment (No.2) Regulations 2010 2010/2649 
			 The Tyne Port Health Authority Order 2010/2676 
			 The Medicines for Human Use (Prescribing by EEA Practitioners) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2010 2010/1673

Diabetes: Health Services

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to  (a) diagnose and  (b) support people with diabetes.

Paul Burstow: The National Service Framework (NSF) for Diabetes sets out the framework for the prevention and diagnosing of diabetes, developing services and improving outcomes for people with diabetes. The national health service has made good progress against the NSF with the number of people getting the key tests and measures to help prevent or delay the complications of diabetes rising year on year. In addition, the National Quality Standard for Diabetes is currently subject to public consultation before being finalised in 2011.
	The NHS is taking a structured approach to risk assessment and management of diabetes with the NHS Health Check programme. The Quality and Outcomes Framework encourages general practitioners to maintain a register of people with a diagnosis of diabetes and to ensure that they receive the key processes of care on an annual basis.
	Supporting people with diabetes to better understand their condition is key to reducing complications arising from diabetes. Structured education programmes, access to specialist diabetes advice, care planning discussions and annual checks are all part of the wide range of NHS support for people with diabetes.
	NHS Diabetes, the national service improvement team has an extensive range of work programmes in place to support the NHS in improving diabetes care at the local level. Specifically, they have produced "Commissioning Without Walls" which provides commissioning advice across a number of facets of diabetes care.
	To raise awareness of type 1 diabetes, in July 2010, NHS Diabetes in association with Diabetes UK and the Department published an exemplar patient journey to highlight the diagnosis and entire care pathway for a child with type 1 diabetes. This is aimed at professionals from a broad range of backgrounds including education, the NHS, social services and the voluntary sector.

Diabetes: Health Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on  (a) NHS and  (b) social care for people with diabetes in 2009; and how much was spent on (i) prescription medicines, (ii) glucose testing, (iii) treatment in primary care, (iv) hospitalisation, (v) ambulance services, (vi) treating complications and (vii) other costs in respect of diabetes care.

Paul Burstow: Diabetes is a life-long, complex condition that can affect every part of the body, which means that it is difficult to calculate its exact cost to the national health service. However programme budget returns estimates that for the year 2008-9, expenditure by the NHS on diabetes was £1.26 billion. For the calendar year 2009, the net ingredient cost of prescribing medicines for diabetes was £488.8 million and the cost for glucose testing was £144.5 million.
	We are unable to provide figures for social care costs, treatment in primary care, the cost for hospitalisation, treating complications and other costs in respect of diabetes care or ambulance services for people with diabetes.

Disability: Children

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether baseline funding for primary care trusts will include an allocation for disabled children's services including  (a) short respite breaks,  (b) wheelchairs,  (c) community equipment and  (d) palliative care.

Simon Burns: The Department currently makes revenue allocations direct to primary care trusts (PCTs) on the basis of a national weighted capitation formula which is used to determine each PCT's target share of available resources. The components of the formula are used to weight each PCTs population according to their relative need (age and additional need) for healthcare and the unavoidable geographical differences in the cost of providing healthcare (the market forces factor).
	PCT revenue allocations are not broken down by policy or service area. Once allocated, it is for PCTs to commission the services they require to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations, taking account of both local and national priorities.
	Further details about PCT revenue allocations post 2010-11 will be announced in December 2010.

Health Protection Agency: Ex-servicemen

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many atomic veterans have been included in the Health Protection Agency's mortality study; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The group of test participants covered by Health Protection Agency's study consists of over 20,000 servicemen and civilians who took part in the tests and a carefully matched control group of a similar size. Controls had served in tropical or sub-tropical areas, but not in test locations. About 85% of those meeting the definition of test participation are included.
	The information about causes of death in this study is obtained only from death certificates and cancer registrations. Post-mortems are not part of the study. If participants have post-mortems for other reasons then the findings are duly recorded in the death certificate from which the study gets its information.
	Three thorough studies have been carried out since the 1980s and the results have been published in science journals. Through the nuclear test veteran organisations, nuclear test veterans and their families have been kept informed about the studies since their inception in 1983 and the researchers have long been committed to providing the results of studies to the test veterans in advance of publication. The publications are in the public domain and are usually well reported in the news media.

Medical Treatments: Haemophilia

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many previously untreated patients were used in trials of the Factor VIII concentrate Hemofil T in the early 1980s.

Simon Burns: The Department does not hold this information. Hemofil T was a commercial product, so the clinical trials would have been conducted by the manufacturer Hyland-Travenol (now Baxter Healthcare).

Prescription Drugs

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance his Department has issued to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on assessing drugs for patient groups of fewer than 500 people;
	(2)  how the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence applies its guidance on social value judgements to the appraisal of drugs for patient groups of fewer than 500 people.

Simon Burns: The Department has not issued any guidance to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the assessment of drugs for patient groups of fewer than 500 people.
	NICE'S "Guide to the methods of technology appraisal specifies that Appraisal Committees should consider the document Social Value Judgements: Principles for the Development of NICE Guidance" in developing any piece of technology appraisal guidance.
	The Guide to the methods of technology appraisal is available at:
	www.nice.org.uk/media/B52/A7/TAMethodsGuideUpdatedJune2008.pdf
	The "Social Value Judgements: Principles for the Development of NICE Guidance" document is at:
	www.nice.org.uk/media/C18/30/SVJ2PUBLICATION2008.pdf

Stem Cells: Fats

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent reports he has received on the use of stem cells taken from waistline fat to treat heart attacks; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The Department has not received any reports on the use of stem cells taken from the waistline to treat heart attacks.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Copyright: Internet

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps his Department has taken to reduce the incidence of illegal online downloads of digital media.

Edward Vaizey: The Digital Economy Act (2010) contained provisions to help tackle unlawful file-sharing of digital content. Ofcom's initial obligations code, heralded by the Act, will shortly be published and is due to come into effect at the beginning of April 2011. Furthermore, the Department continues to liaise with representatives of the digital content industry, internet service providers and intermediaries to investigate further possible action which could appropriately be taken by industry itself to reduce unlawful online file sharing and promote legitimate digital content.

Copyright: Internet

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent estimates he has made of the cost to the music industry of illegal music downloading.

Edward Vaizey: I have made no recent estimate of the cost to the music industry of illegal music downloading. However, the British phonographic industry estimate that the loss to the UK music industry from unlawful file-sharing is £180 million per annum (2008).

Copyright: Internet

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department has discussed with representatives of the music industry non-legislative solutions to help reduce illegal online file sharing.

Edward Vaizey: The Department has had discussions with representatives of the UK music industry together with internet service providers (ISPs) to discuss possible non-legislative solutions to help reduce unlawful online file-sharing, as well as the protection and promotion of legitimate digital content.

Departmental Food

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department has guidelines on ensuring that food used for his Department's official functions is of domestic origin.

John Penrose: The Department provides very little food for official functions and, accordingly, does not have any specific guidelines for ensuring it is of domestic origin.

Football: South Africa

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on attendance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Hugh Robertson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the right hon. Member for Exeter (Mr Bradshaw) on 6 September 2010,  Official Report, columns 321-22W, by the Minister for Tourism and Heritage, my hon. Friend the Member for Weston-super-Mare (John Penrose).

Music: Finance

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will estimate the likely monetary value to the economy of the music industry in 2015.

Edward Vaizey: We have no plans to estimate the likely monetary value of the music industry in 2015, but in 2006 the Creative and Cultural Skills Council reported that the industry contributed some £6 billion to the UK economy.

S4C: Finance

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of the funds allocated to S4C from the BBC licence fee will be spent in the independent production sector.

Edward Vaizey: All of S4C's content budget will be spent in the independent production sector, as at present.

S4C: Finance

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will provide a period of six months for his Department and the BBC Trust to consider and report on the merits of the proposed funding arrangements for S4C; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Subject to the Public Bodies Bill, the funding arrangements for S4C are set out in the Secretary of State's spending review settlement letter of 20 October to the chair of the Welsh Authority and my right hon. Friend's licence fee agreement letter of 21 October to the chair of the BBC Trust.
	Further information on the licence fee agreement can be found in the settlement letter published on our website:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/Lyons_BBC.pdf

S4C: Finance

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether the funding to be allocated to S4C will exclude the £20 million the BBC spends on in-house Welsh language programmes for S4C.

Edward Vaizey: The statutory provision of Welsh programming by the BBC to S4C is in addition to the funding allocated to S4C in the Secretary of State's spending review settlement letter of 20 October to the chair of the Welsh Authority.
	Further information on the licence fee agreement can be found in the settlement letter published on our website:
	http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/Lyons_BBC.pdf

WALES

Departmental Written Questions

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled to the Secretary of State for written answer on a named day were answered substantively before or on the day named for answer  (a) in Session 2009-10 and  (b) since May 2010; how many such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 had not received a substantive answer by 18 November 2010; and what estimate she has made of the average cost to her Department of answering a question for written answer on a named day on the day named for answer in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of questions tabled to the Secretary of State for ordinary written answer  (a) in Session 2009-10 and  (b) since May 2010 were answered within (i) seven days and (ii) 14 days of tabling; how many such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 remained unanswered by 18 November 2010; and what estimate she has made of the average cost to her Department of answering a question for ordinary written answer within seven days of tabling in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Jones: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			   2010-11 Session 
			 Named day questions answered 25 
			 Named day questions answered on or before named day 25 (100%) 
			 Ordinary written questions answered within one sitting week 147 (91%) 
			 Ordinary written questions answered within two sitting weeks 158 (98%) 
		
	
	No named day parliamentary questions that have been tabled between May 2010 and November 2010 were awaiting a substantive response on 18 November 2010.
	No questions tabled for ordinary written answer between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 remained unanswered by 18 November 2010.
	The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions for the 2009-10 session. This information will be submitted to the Procedure Committee shortly.
	In relation to the cost of answering written questions, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the figures provided by Her Majesty's Treasury in its written ministerial statement of 20 January 2010,  Official Report, column 15WS.

Public Expenditure

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the effects of the comprehensive spending review on funding for sport in Wales;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the effects of the comprehensive spending review on that Department's expenditure in Wales;
	(3)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the effects of the comprehensive spending review on funding for transport infrastructure in Wales;
	(4)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on the effects of the comprehensive spending review outcomes on that Department's expenditure in Wales;
	(5)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the effects of the comprehensive spending review on cross-border health provision affecting Wales;
	(6)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the effects of the comprehensive spending review on that Department's expenditure in Wales;
	(7)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the effects of the comprehensive spending review on that Department's expenditure in Wales;
	(8)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the effects of the comprehensive spending review on that Department's expenditure in Wales;
	(9)  what discussions she has had with the Home Secretary on the effects of the comprehensive spending review on that Department's expenditure in Wales;
	(10)  what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the effects of the comprehensive spending review on that Department's expenditure in Wales;
	(11)  what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effects of the comprehensive spending review on that Department's expenditure in Wales.

Cheryl Gillan: I have had regular discussions with my Cabinet colleagues on the comprehensive spending review and the implications for Wales. The importance of a fair settlement for Wales has been at the heart of all of those discussions.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adult Education

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what organisations he has consulted on his plans to reform adult community learning; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he expects to be in a position to announce his proposals for reform of adult community learning; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: We very much welcome your interest. This Government are keen supporters of adult and community learning and the benefits it brings for individuals, families and communities. That is why we protected the funding for adult safeguarded learning in the recent comprehensive spending review. And that is why we are determined to make it accessible to the people in our society who are most disadvantaged and have had had fewest opportunities to learn in the past.
	On 16 November, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced our intention to reform and reinvigorate informal adult and community learning. We are currently at the stage of planning the reform programme and I am considering proposals for the process and timescales. You will know already that we place a high value on the views of our partners in the sector. We will work closely with a wide range of organisations to maximise the potential of informal adult and community learning to support the development of the Big Society and create progression routes into further learning, training and employment for people who are disadvantaged.

Adult Education: Finance

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his Department's budget will be for adult community learning in  (a) 2013-14 and  (b) 2014-15.

John Hayes: As set out in 'Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth', published on 16 November 2010, we are protecting the Department's budget for informal adult and community learning funded through the Adult Safeguarded Learning budget. I can confirm that informal adult and community learning has a budget of £210 million for 2011-12 and the same indicative budget for 2012-13. It will continue to be a priority as we finalise the allocations for future years.

Advantage West Midlands

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects to make a decision on the future ownership of the Ansty Business Park, Coventry, after the closure of Advantage West Midlands.

Mark Prisk: This Department has been having ongoing discussions on the principles and process for the disposal of all regional development agency (RDA) assets and liabilities. Detailed guidance to RDAs is still being prepared and this will enable plans to be developed for transition. Until these plans are completed there will be no decisions on the sale or transfer of assets (outside ordinary course disposals) unless there are compelling time pressures which require an early decision be made. The plans will aim to secure maximum value for money for the taxpayer and optimum benefits to the region in question.

Apprentices

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department plans to repeat the exercise undertaken for its study, Apprenticeship Pay: 2007 Survey of Earnings by Sector.

John Hayes: This Department does plan to undertake a survey of apprenticeship pay in 2011, following the introduction of the new apprentice minimum wage. The Government have recently strengthened the pay arrangements for apprentices by ending their exemption from the minimum wage and bringing all apprentices within the national minimum wage (NMW) framework. The new rate of £2.50 per hour was introduced from 1 October 2010.

Apprentices: Fees and Charges

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the average cost to an individual aged over 24 years of course fees in respect of an apprenticeship place in 2013-14.

John Hayes: 'Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth' (16 November 2010) sets out our funding strategy for post 19 further education (FE) and skills for the spending review. We have been clear that it is only fair that those who benefit the most from training make a greater contribution towards the costs of their course, but also only fair for them to make this contribution when they are indeed realising those benefits and earning a good salary.
	From the 2013/14 academic year, Government will continue to share the costs of level 2 apprenticeships for learners aged 24 and above with employers. Government will no longer co-fund level 3 and higher apprenticeships for those aged 24 and above. In this instance, where learners are expected to contribute towards the costs, they will have access to fee loans to defer the costs of training.
	In cases where a contribution is expected from a learner and/or employer, it is not possible to estimate the amount of fees charged to learners because from the 2013/14 academic year (i) as now FE colleges and training organisations will be responsible for determining the amount of fees charged and (ii) learners and employers will need to agree on a case-by-case basis how best to share the costs and what proportion of the fees each will pay.
	As set out in 'Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth', over the next few months we will engage with colleges, training organisations and others on the details of how fee loans will be implemented to ensure the approach to fee loans recognises the characteristics of different types of learners and identifies the particular delivery arrangements appropriate for the FE and skills sector.

Astrum: Kuwait

Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to assist Astrum with its bid to supply track spares to the Kuwait fleet of Desert Warrior armoured fighting vehicles.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 22 November 2010
	UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation has engaged with the Kuwait Ministry of Defence on the competition for Desert Warrior Track and has worked successfully in support of UK companies, including Astrum, which have been invited to tender for this contract. I understand that the tender process has now closed and that the Kuwait Ministry of Defence is currently in the process of considering the bids.

Balance of Trade: Republic of Ireland

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the monetary value was of  (a) exports to and  (b) imports from each region of the UK in respect of the Republic of Ireland in the last five years for which figures are available.

Mark Prisk: The data requested are shown in the following tables for trade in goods, based on HM Revenue and Customs regional trade statistics:
	
		
			  (a) UK exports of goods to the Republic of Ireland (£ million) 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 United Kingdom total 16,205 17,202 17,632 18,586 15,484 
			 North East 313 357 372 387 253 
			 North West 1,237 1,357 1,385 1,412 1,224 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 854 936 1,015 1,039 892 
			 East Midlands 1,016 1,076 1,154 1,154 1,059 
			 West Midlands 831 936 990 900 681 
			 East 1,334 1,306 1,343 1,530 1,591 
			 London 1,497 1,469 1,520 1,459 1,395 
			 South East 2,019 2,042 2,094 2,151 1,868 
			 South West 1,318 1,263 1,342 1,055 607 
			 Wales 847 951 913 1,137 898 
			 Scotland 735 559 449 382 346 
			 Northern Ireland 2,006 2,272 2,436 2,513 2,112 
			 Unknown 2,199 2,678 2,620 3,466 2,559 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) UK imports of goods from the Republic of Ireland (£ million) 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 United Kingdom total 10,005 10,417 11,249 12,020 12,265 
			 North East 95 42 74 57 48 
			 North West 500 531 528 589 520 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 444 467 457 504 455 
			 East Midlands 182 172 238 242 249 
			 West Midlands 445 508 511 700 605 
			 East 1,226 1,294 1,959 2,476 3,079 
			 London 1,328 1,444 1,284 1,301 1,216 
			 South East 1,527 1,675 1,718 1,599 1,771 
			 South West 358 482 543 495 474 
			 Wales 127 99 91 74 91 
			 Scotland 178 201 336 182 175 
			 Northern Ireland 1,370 1,423 1,510 1,600 1,598 
			 Unknown 2,224 2,077 2,000 2,200 1,985

Banks: Loans

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the level of access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses.

Mark Prisk: The Government are committed to improving access to finance for small and medium sized enterprises to enable them to grow and drive the recovery.
	On 1 November we published our response to the consultation on business finance issues, "Financing a private sector recovery" which is available at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/businessfinance
	We have also published our strategy "Backing small business" available at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/backing-small-business
	setting out new measures to help SMEs grow and to boost enterprise.
	We have announced the following measures to increase the level of access to finance for small and medium sized firms:
	A four year extension to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) making around £2 billion available to viable SMEs without a credit history or lacking sufficient collateral.
	An increased commitment to the Enterprise Capital Fund programme of £200 million to support small businesses with the highest growth potential, providing more than £300 million of venture capital investment into the equity gap after both Government and private sector funding are combined.
	Furthermore, we have worked with the banks to create a new £1.5 billion Business Growth Fund, to provide equity funding of between £2 million and £10 million for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) with strong growth potential.

Business: Government Assistance

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises have received funding from the Capital for Enterprise Fund since its establishment; and what proportion of his Department's expenditure on that scheme has been in respect of such enterprises.

Mark Prisk: The Capital for Enterprise Fund (CfEF) is a £75 million fund including £50 million of public funds, supported by £25 million from UK banks.
	38 companies have been invested in by CfEF's underlying funds. Overall investor commitment drawn to date is £52.1 million out of which the total Government commitment is £38.3 million.

Business: Government Assistance

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises have received funding from the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme since its establishment; and what proportion of his Department's expenditure on that scheme has been in respect of such enterprises.

Mark Prisk: As of 17 November, 12,699 businesses have been offered Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) backed loans with a value of £1.29 billion, of which 10,968 business have drawn down loans totalling £1.1 billion.
	The EFG scheme guarantees bank lending to small and medium-sized businesses with a turnover of up to £25 million. BIS expenditure on EFG would arise from claims on the guarantee by an accredited lender should a borrower default on their loan repayments. As such, all of the Department's expenditure of EFG has been in respect to loans to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Business: Government Assistance

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many small and medium-sized enterprises have received funds from the Working Capital Scheme since its establishment; and what proportion of his Department's expenditure on that scheme has been in respect of such enterprises.

Mark Prisk: The previous Government launched the Working Capital Scheme (WCS) in January 2009 to provide guarantees to banks on portfolios of loans: individual businesses were not eligible to apply for these guarantees. It was announced in November 2009 that no new guarantees would be available under the WCS. All current guarantees will be honoured until the end of the scheme on 31 March 2011. As there have been no defaults to date, there has been no relevant expenditure.

Business: Government Assistance

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department had spent on the  (a) Enterprise Finance Guarantee,  (b) Capital for Enterprise Fund and  (c) Working Capital Scheme between their inception and on the latest date for which figures are available.

Mark Prisk: Both the Enterprise Finance Guarantee and Working Capital Scheme operate as loan guarantee schemes whereby Government expenditure arises from defaults. The Capital for Enterprise Fund is an equity fund scheme.
	Under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, 12,699 businesses have been offered loans with a value of £1.29 billion, of which 10,968 businesses have drawn down loans totalling £1.1 billion. The total Government expenditure to date is £6.1 million.
	The Working Capital Scheme provided guarantees to banks of £2.2 billion to release regulatory capital for new lending. To date there have been no defaults to date under the Working Capital Scheme, and as such there has been no relevant expenditure.
	Under the Capital for Enterprise Fund, the Government have committed £50 million of funds towards an overall fund size of £75 million. From this £38.3 million has been drawn from the Government contribution of SME investments.

Departmental Press: Subscriptions

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much  (a) his Department and  (b) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible spent on press cuttings services in each of the last 12 months.

Edward Davey: Spend on press cuttings services in the 12 months since October 2009 by the Department's Press Office is:
	
		
			  Month  Total (excluding VAT) (£) 
			 October 2009 15,479.58 
			 November 2009 13,470.36 
			 December 2009 12,006.92 
			 January 2010 11,883.16 
			 February 2010 11,292.40 
			 March 2010 14,890.40 
			 April 2010 12,361.06 
			 May 2010 9,761.30 
			 June 2010 7,302.04 
			 July 2010 7,239.44 
			 August 2010 8,076.64 
			 September 2010 7,910.40 
			 October 2010 9,369.12 
		
	
	These figures cover the costs of producing and distributing electronic and printed copies of the daily press cuttings. They excluded the copyright costs paid to the Newspaper Licensing Authority (NLA) via our press cuttings service provider.
	Information for spend on press cuttings services for non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what new regulations sponsored by his Department have been introduced through  (a) primary legislation and  (b) statutory instrument in the last six months.

Mark Prisk: In the last six months, BIS has  (a) not introduced any regulations through primary legislation and has  (b) introduced 20 regulations through statutory instruments. Of the 20 measures, only four impose a cost on business. During the time period the Postal Services Bill was introduced into Parliament.

Economic Growth

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what contribution he expects regional growth hubs to make to economic growth in the period of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Mark Prisk: It is too early to make such an assessment for growth hubs. Where analytical evidence is available from services which might be offered within growth hubs, the evidence suggests the impact will be substantial. The Department will set out its proposals in due course.

Foreign Investment in UK

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many potential inward investment deals UK Trade and Investment has negotiated since May 2010; and in respect of what proportion contracts have been agreed.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has been involved in 102 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, confirmed as locating or expanding in the UK, between 1 May and 17 November. UKTI has been involved in a further 224 FDI projects confirmed during the same period as being expected to locate or expand in the UK, but where final confirmation of the location or expansion has not yet been received.

Foreign Investment in UK

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the monetary value of inward investment attributable to the influence of UK Trade and Investment in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) records the numbers of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects entering the UK each year, together with the investing companies estimates of associated jobs and capital expenditure for the first three years of each FDI project. In many cases companies do not provide capital expenditure data so the recorded figures for that are partial. Within the overall total for the UK, the figures for each of the last five years in respect of projects assisted by UKTI are as follow;
	
		
			   UKTI assisted FDI projects  No. of new jobs  No. of safeguarded jobs  Total No. of associated jobs  Capital investment (where supplied) (£) 
			 2005/06 449 12,507 5,940 18,447 1,389,453,250 
			 2006/07 496 13,611 3,267 19,878 973,331,000 
			 2007/08 549 14,274 9,824 24,098 583,746,000 
			 2008/09 600 10,678 18,600 29,278 2,420,905,617 
			 2009/10 759 32,557 14,661 47,218 3,978,749,064 
			 Totals 2,853 83,627 52,292 138,919 9,346,184,931

Foreign Investment in UK: Yorkshire

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of Government-supported inward investment in respect of Yorkshire was attributable to  (a) UK Trade and Investment and  (b) Yorkshire Forward in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Prisk: For the financial year 2009/10, which is the last period for which full figures are available, a total of 147 foreign direct investment projects was recorded by UKTI in the Yorkshire and Humber region. A total of 93 were assisted by Yorkshire Forward, UKTI or a combination of the two. This breaks down as follows:
	(i) UKTI and Yorkshire Forward jointly: 27;
	(ii) UKTI alone: 11;
	(iii) Yorkshire Forward alone: 55.
	HM Government currently fund the work of the regional development agencies (RDAs) through the RDAs' Single Budget, which is administered by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. UKTI is one of the Government Departments which contributes to the RDAs' Single Budget. UKTI's contribution is specifically intended to fund the foreign direct investment work of the RDAs, including Yorkshire Forward, as part of the UKTI-led national foreign direct investment effort.
	UKTI's estimated contribution to Yorkshire Forward in the financial year 2009/10 was £2,183,000, 13.31% of the total of £16,401,000 paid by UKTI into the RDAs' Single Budget during this period.

Graduates: Income

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of the average additional lifetime earnings of higher education graduates; when this figure was most recently calculated; and how many students were in higher education at that time.

David Willetts: The Department draws on various estimates of the lifetime earnings benefits for degree holders, arising from both external and internal analysis. Generally they all estimate the lifetime earnings benefits of having a first degree over and above two or more A-levels (the 'graduate premium').
	These estimates indicate that first degree graduates can expect to earn, on average, over £100,000 more over their working life, in today's values and net of taxes, than similar individuals who stop their education with two or more A-levels
	This is for the average graduate, and the actual position for any individual will vary around this average.
	There have been several calculations of the graduate premium in recent years, using data from different time periods and/or slightly different methods, though they have all used data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS-a sample survey) and the broad approach is consistent. These have all come to similar conclusions, albeit with slightly different estimates, which is why it is generally not expressed as a single figure but rather as a range or being above a certain value.
	Some of the estimates are noted as follows, along with an indication of the data periods used for each one:
	
		
			  LFS data period  Graduate premium estimate  Source 
			 1994-2002 Net males: £142,000 (1)Sloane and O'Leary, 2005 
			  Net females: £158,000  
			
			 2000-05 Gross: £160,000 (2)PWC, 2007 
			  (Net c.£110,000-£120,000)  
			
			 2004-07 Net £120,000 DIUS internal, 2008 
			 (1) "The Return to a University Education in Great Britain, O'Leary, N.C. and P.J. Sloane (2005), National Institute Economic Review, No. 193; pp 75-89. (2) "The Economic Benefits of a degree", UUK/PWC, February 2007. http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/Publications/Documents/research-gradprem.pdf 
		
	
	The number of students in higher education for each academic year since 1999/2000 was as follows:
	
		
			   All HE students  Undergraduate only 
			   UK HEIs  English HEIs  UK HEIs  English HEIs 
			 1999/2000 1,856,330 1,540,610 1,447,710 1,198,330 
			 2000/01 1,990,625 1,656,700 1,541,925 1,278,895 
			 2001/02 2,086,075 1,726,840 1,616,225 1,334,510 
			 2002/03 2,175,115 1,807,660 1,677,615 1,390,915 
			 2003/04 2,247,440 1,868,415 1,723,615 1,428,430 
			 2004/05 2,287,540 1,895,825 1,754,910 1,448,380 
			 2005/06 2,336,110 1,936,420 1,790,740 1,481,985 
			 2006/07 2,362,815 1,957,190 1,803,425 1,494,760 
			 2007/08 2,306,105 1,922,180 1,804,970 1,505,015 
			 2008/09 2,396,050 2,005,840 1,859,240 1,556,525 
			  Source: HESA data. All: modes of study, levels of study, domiciles. http://www. hesa.ac.uk/index.php/component/option.com_datatables/ltemid,121/task,show_category/catdex,3/#institution

Green Investment Bank: South West

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will put in place measures to ensure that the South West benefits from the creation of the Green Investment Bank.

Mark Prisk: As outlined in the spending review statement, we are committed to establishing a UK-wide Green Investment Bank, which will focus on the financing of green infrastructure projects and the deployment of late-stage green technologies. Work on the business and operating model is currently under way, and we will be guided by the Government's tests of effectiveness, affordability and transparency.
	My hon. Friend may wish to note that we will be completing design work and further market testing by May 2011. Therefore, I am unable to provide further details of the institution's final design at this stage. However, the intention is to create an institution with powers to invest across the UK. The Government's current view is that this should be feasible.

Higher Education

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the behavioural patterns of potential undergraduates in respect of making applications to higher education institutions of his proposed changes to higher education funding; what evidence he took into account in making this assessment; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: To support the Browne Review and the Government's response, we commissioned research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) to explore how changes in fees, grants and loans impact on participation. This research drew on variation in grants, fees and loans over the period 1992-2007, and indicated that a £1,000 increase in fees results in a 4.4ppt decrease in university participation, while a £1,000 increase in loans results in a 3.2ppt increase in participation, and a £1,000 increase in grants results in a 2.1ppt increase in participation; therefore offsetting any effect from an increase in fees.
	The Government's proposals provide a more generous package of grants and loans to ensure that no students face any up-front costs for tuition and those from lower income households, while studying, get more support for their living costs. The Government are also due to consult on the details of the National Scholarships programme aimed at providing further targeted support for students. The more progressive repayment system of graduate contributions to the cost of university education will also protect any low-earning graduates.

Higher Education: Finance

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on skills training of his proposed changes to higher education funding; and what statistical evidence he evaluated in making that assessment.

David Willetts: Our proposed changes allow us to maintain the supply of high-level skills. They open up opportunities for new providers, and offer improved student support for part-time students, many of whom will be within the existing work force. Those eligible for part-time support will rise to around 150,000; currently only around 60,000 receive support.
	Prospective higher education learners of all ages will be better-informed and have real choice.
	The forthcoming higher education White Paper will set out how we expect the higher education sector to develop the high level skills of both our future and existing workforce, and so support economic growth.

Higher Education: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate his Department has made of  (a) the costs of processing graduate repayments and  (b) other costs to the Student Loan Company of implementing his proposals to reform the funding of universities and students; and whether such costs will be met from his Department's budget.

David Willetts: We expect to publish an interim impact assessment relating to the Government's proposals for urgent reforms to Higher Education funding and student finance at the same time as the first draft regulations relating to the these reforms are brought before Parliament. The interim impact assessment will include projections of the costs of processing graduate repayments and other related costs for the Student Loans Company, although it should be noted that these projections will be indicative and will be refined in due course. Costs will be met from within the Department's spending review budget allocation. The interim impact assessment will be published on the BIS website and a copy will be forwarded to the hon. Member.

Higher Education: Mature Students

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent assessment his Department has made of the  (a) particular requirements of mature students and  (b) reasons for recent trends in respect of the number of university (i) applications and (ii) acceptances in respect of mature students.

David Willetts: We are providing extra help to mature students by ensuring that part-time under graduates, studying for at least a third of their time, will not have to face up front fees because they can access the same progressive finance package as full-time students. 93% of part-time under graduate enrolments are mature students. Those eligible for part-time support will rise to around 150,000; currently only 60,000 receive support.
	The most recent data available( )show that the number of applicants in respect of mature students (defined as being aged 21 and over) to English institutions by domicile at the main scheme deadline for the period 2007 to 2010 was as follows:
	
		
			   2007  2008  2009  2010 
			 UK and other EU 82,245 98,513 117,678 139,729 
			 Non-EU 12,205 12,502 12,632 13,688 
			 Total 94,450 111,015 130,310 153,417 
		
	
	and that the acceptances, for the same period, were as follows:
	
		
			   2007  2008  2009  2010 
			 UK and other EU 66,024 79,317 86,621 83,764 
			 Non-EU 7,820 7,662 8,207 8,089 
			 Total 73,844 86,979 94,828 91,853 
			  Note: In 2008 the Nursing and Midwifery Admissions Service (NMAS) was incorporated into the main UCAS system for the first time. In 2008 there were 9,295 applicants who applied only to NMAS courses, and 8,410 who were accepted.  Source: Universities and Colleges Application Service (UCAS).

Local Enterprise Partnerships: North West

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress has been made on approval of a local economic partnership for Pennine-Lancashire.

Mark Prisk: Three conflicting proposals were made in Lancashire. At the moment, positive discussions are taking place about how those can be rationalised, and officials will continue to work with both business and civic leaders to find a sensible arrangement.

Mature Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of individuals aged 24 years and over who will be obliged to take out loans to pay for a level three qualification from 2013-14 as a result of the implementation of his Department's proposals.

John Hayes: 'Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth' (16 November 2010) sets out the funding strategy for post-19 further education (FE) and skills. The introduction of new FE loans from the 2013/14 academic year provides the capacity for learner investment. We recognise that this is a significant reform and that is why we are phasing in the changes over the spending review period to provide the sector with sufficient time to plan effectively.
	As set out in 'Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth', over the next few months we will engage with colleges, training organisations and others on the details of how fee loans will be implemented to ensure the approach to fee loans recognises the characteristics of different types of learners and identifies the particular delivery arrangements appropriate for the FE and skills sector.
	It is therefore not possible to estimate the number of learners who will be eligible for fee loans in the 2013/14 academic year.

Mature Students: Loans

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has had discussions with the Sector Skills Councils on the implications for individuals aged 24 years and over of requiring them to take out loans to pay for a level three qualification from 2013/14 as part of the implementation of his Department's proposals.

John Hayes: "Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth" (16 November 2010) sets out the funding strategy for post-19 Further Education (FE) and Skills. The introduction of new FE loans from the 2013/14 academic year provides the capacity for learner investment. We recognise that this is a significant reform and that is why we are phasing in the changes over the spending review period to provide the sector with sufficient time to plan effectively.
	As set out in "Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth", over the next few months we will engage with colleges, training organisations and others on the details of how fee loans will be implemented to ensure the approach to fee loans recognises the characteristics of different types of learners and identifies the particular delivery arrangements appropriate for the FE and Skills sector.

Mobile Phones: Prices

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with Ofcom on the cost of calling 0870 and 0845 numbers from mobile telephones.

Edward Vaizey: I have had no discussions with Ofcom on this issue, as under the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom has responsibility for numbering policy, which includes the provision of 0870 and 0845 number ranges. Since 2006, in response to consumer concern, Ofcom has introduced a range of measures that has made 0870 and 0845 calls cheaper for calls from landlines, although this has not been possible for calls from mobile telephones due to the additional costs, which are usually involved in transmitting and connecting the call from the mobile network.
	Earlier this year, Ofcom started a review of the consumer experience of non-geographic numbers to consider whether they need to restructure the regulations that control the delivery of non-geographic calls services to consumers. These are telephone numbers beginning with 03, 05, 070/076, 08, 09, 116 and 118. They expect to publish their consultation shortly, and full details of its proposals will be available on its website:
	www.ofcom.org.uk

North East of England Development Board

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the functions of the North East of England Development Board are; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: The North East Industrial Development Board closed on 23 February 2010. The principal function of the Board was to advise One North East on applications for regional selective assistance under the Grant for Business Investment (GBI) scheme and its predecessors of over £250,000 and less than £2 million. From time to time the Board was also asked to advise One North East on: applications for selective financial assistance that fell outside current forms of support; applications submitted under the Tees Valley Industrial programme (TVIP); proposals to make major modifications to existing forms of support; proposals to introduce new forms of support under Section 8 of the Industrial Development Act 1982; administrative aspects of GBI and other schemes; and to provide information on the state of the regional economy to the Government Office for the North East as part of its quarterly report.
	These functions were transferred to the North East Investment Advisory Panel on its creation in March 2010.

Northwest Regional Development Agency: Assets

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions his Department has had on the sale of assets owned by the North West Development Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: This Department has been having ongoing discussions on the principles and process for the disposal of all regional development agency (RDA) assets and liabilities. Detailed guidance to RDAs is still being prepared and this will enable plans to be developed for transition. Until these plans are completed there will be no decisions on the sale or transfer of assets (outside ordinary course disposals) unless there are compelling time pressures which require an early decision be made. The plans will aim to secure maximum value for money for the taxpayer and optimum benefits to the region in question.

Overseas Trade

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many trade missions his Department has led to each country in each of the last five years.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade and Investment funds national and regional outward trade missions which give companies the opportunity to visit overseas markets as part of a UK delegation. Information held on the UKTI Client Relationship Management (CRM) system on the number of missions funded since April 2007 is reflected in the following table. These figures do not include support for exhibitions or individual events overseas. Before that date, full records were not held centrally and could be retrieved only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Number of UKTI outward trade missions 
			  Country  2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 (to date)  Total 
			 Algeria 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Argentina 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Australia 1 0 1 1 3 
			 Austria 0 0 2 1 3 
			 Bahrain 1 2 1 0 4 
			 Belgium 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Brazil 8 8 11 9 36 
			 Brunei 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Bulgaria 4 3 2 1 10 
			 Canada 5 8 3 1 17 
			 Chile 0 1 1 0 2 
			 China 20 29 30 24 103 
			 Croatia 0 1 1 0 2 
			 Cyprus 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Czech Republic 3 1 2 0 6 
			 Denmark 1 1 2 0 4 
			 Egypt 2 6 1 0 9 
			 Estonia 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Finland 0 2 0 1 3 
			 France 3 5 4 3 15 
			 Germany 2 5 2 0 9 
			 Ghana 0 2 3 1 6 
			 Hong Kong (SAR) 6 5 2 1 14 
			 Hungary 3 0 0 0 3 
			 India 13 17 10 6 46 
			 Indonesia 0 0 1 2 3 
			 Iraq 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Ireland 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Israel 2 4 3 0 9 
			 Italy 0 5 2 4 11 
			 Japan 11 10 6 4 31 
			 Jordan 0 1 2 1 4 
			 Kenya 0 3 2 0 5 
			 Korea (South) 1 1 4 2 8 
			 Kuwait 0 1 1 0 2 
			 Latvia 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Lebanon 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Libya 0 6 10 5 21 
			 Macao (SAR) 2 0 0 0 2 
			 Malaysia 1 3 3 3 10 
			 Mexico 4 3 4 3 14 
			 Montenegro 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Morocco 0 2 0 0 2 
			 Netherlands 1 1 0 0 2 
			 New Zealand 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Nigeria 3 6 1 0 10 
			 Norway 1 0 0 2 3 
			 Oman 1 0 1 0 2 
			 Panama 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Philippines 3 1 1 0 5 
			 Poland 8 6 3 0 17 
			 Portugal 5 3 3 3 14 
			 Qatar 3 4 6 1 14 
			 Romania 3 8 2 0 13 
			 Russia 5 5 8 5 23 
			 Saudi Arabia 8 7 5 0 20 
			 Serbia 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Singapore 1 0 6 2 9 
			 Slovakia 2 0 0 0 2 
			 Slovenia 0 1 0 0 1 
			 South Africa 4 3 4 1 12 
			 Spain 4 0 4 0 8 
			 Sweden 3 2 0 0 5 
			 Switzerland 2 6 3 0 11 
			 Syria 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Taiwan 1 7 2 2 12 
			 Thailand 2 0 2 0 4 
			 Tunisia 0 0 2 0 2 
			 Turkey 5 4 4 2 15 
			 Ukraine 0 1 0 0 1 
			 United Arab Emirates 9 8 10 3 30 
			 United States 19 21 21 15 76 
			 Venezuela 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Vietnam 1 1 1 1 4 
			 Total 188 239 211 113 751

Regional Growth Fund

John Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the closing date is for the second tranche of applications to the Regional Growth Fund.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 23 November 2010
	The first round of bidding for the Regional Growth Fund opened with the launch of the Local Growth White Paper (28 October), and will close on the 21 January 2011.
	Following the closure of the first round and assessment of how that round progressed, the dates for the second round will be announced via the Regional Growth Fund webpage hosted by the BIS website.
	It is envisaged that there will be at least three bidding rounds.

Regional Growth Fund

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanisms will be in place to ensure fairness in respect of the funding allocated to regions from the regional growth fund.

Mark Prisk: The regional growth fund is a challenge fund that is open to bids from the private sector, or public private partnership from any part of England. Bids will be expected to demonstrate how they meet the fund's two published objectives:
	stimulate enterprise by providing support for projects and programmes with significant potential for economic growth and create additional sustainable private sector employment; and
	support in particular those areas and communities that are currently dependent on the public sector make the transition to sustainable private sector-led growth and prosperity.
	To help applicants, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has produced guidance that details the criteria that bids will be assessed against to meet the two objectives.
	BIS has also published an outline of the fund's appraisal process, part of which includes an assessment by an independent advisory panel chaired by my noble Friend Lord Heseltine. All of these are available on the regional growth fund web page:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/regional-economic-development/regional-growth-fund
	At all stages in the appraisal and approval process, the only criteria applications will be judged against are those that are published. However, this is a challenge fund, which will mean that some bids that meet the criteria will not be successful, as in that particular bidding round there were stronger bids that also meet all the criteria.

Students: Fees and Charges

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what information his Department holds for benchmarking purposes on the average tuition fees charged by state-funded universities in each other EU member state.

David Willetts: The Department does not hold any information for benchmarking purposes on the average tuition fees charged by state-funded universities in each EU member state other than the UK.
	However, the Department recently published a study which it had commissioned to build the evidence base for the Browne review which contained information on the tuition fees charged in a number of EU and other countries. The study entitled "Review of Student Support Arrangements in Other Countries" by London Economics was published in September 2010:
	http://www.bis.gov.Uk/assets/biscore/corporate/docs/r/10-670-review-student-support-in-other-countries.pdf
	Further information on the contributions for tertiary education made by individuals and Government are published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), most recently in their Education at a Glance 2010 publication.

Students: Fees and Charges

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Harrow West of 17 November 2010,  Official Report, column 888W, on students: fees and charges, whether part-time students receiving fees loans on the same basis as full-time students will be subject to the same  (a) minimum and  (b) maximum fee cap as full-time students.

David Willetts: Unlike full-time fees, part-time fees are currently unregulated. We are considering all the issues around support for part-time students in consultation with representatives of the part-time sector. We will announce the details in due course.

Students: Fees and Charges

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish an equality impact assessment of his proposal to increase the maximum level tuition fees before bringing forward his legislative proposals on that matter; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: We expect to publish an interim equality impact assessment relating to the Government's proposals for reforms to higher education funding and student finance at the same time as the first draft regulations relating to the these reforms are laid before Parliament. The interim equality impact assessment will include coverage of the proposed increase in the maximum level of charges which universities will be allowed to set. It will be published on the BIS website.

Students: Fees and Charges

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what account he plans to take of recent trends in respect of the number of  (a) unsuccessful applicants reapplying and  (b) students who are likely to seek to enter university in 2011-12 in formulating his proposals to increase the level of student fees from 2012-13.

David Willetts: The reforms to the system of higher education (HE) funding are aimed at producing a more sustainable environment in which our HE institutions will be able to flourish. We expect student numbers to be broadly maintained. Our plans for student numbers in 2011-12 will be set out in the Higher Education Funding Council for England's (HEFCE) grant letter which will be published shortly.

UK Trade and Investment

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of UK Trade and Investment activity which relates to  (a) exports and  (b) inward investment.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade and Investments 2009-10 Resource Accounts (HC 3) report that the total budget for UKTI was £350.4 million.
	Of this, £270.2 million was spent on activity to enhance the competitiveness of companies in the UK through overseas trade and £80.2 million on activity to attract a continuing high level of quality foreign direct investment.

UK Trade and Investment

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses UK Trade and Investment has assisted with exports in the last 12 months.

Mark Prisk: The latest UKTI Performance and Impact Monitoring Survey (PIMS) reported in September 2010. PIMS results against all key performance measures are reported on a rolling four-quarter basis, enabling robust coverage across all UKTI trade services.
	Latest results relate to service delivery mainly carried out between April 2009 and March 2010 and show that the number of trade clients helped by UKTI rose to 24,700 (up from 23,700) during the 12 months measured in the survey.

UK Trade and Investment

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of UK Trade and Investment's clients were small businesses in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mark Prisk: UKTI supported 24,700 companies during 2009-10; of which 86% of supported firms were SMEs (i.e. <250 employees).

UK Trade and Investment: ICT

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what client relationship management system is used by UK Trade and Investment; and what access other Government Departments have to that system.

Mark Prisk: UK Trade and Investment uses Infor's Epiphany Customer Relationship Management system. This system is accessible to UKTI staff in the UK and overseas and in addition to Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) staff who have a business need to access customer data.

UK Trade and Investment: Yorkshire

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many roadshows or other presentations promoting its activities UK Trade and Investment has undertaken in Yorkshire since May 2010.

Mark Prisk: UKTI organises events to communicate the importance of trading internationally to companies and to highlight the opportunities in particular markets and sectors. At each event UKTI will explain the support they are able to offer. Since May 2010 UKTI have organised 14 such events in Yorkshire.
	Other organisations such as banks, accountants and legal firms organise events for clients and UKTI staff have spoken about international opportunities and support at 20 such events in Yorkshire since May 2010.

UK Trade and Investment: Yorkshire

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much has been spent by UK Trade and Investment in  (a) North Yorkshire and  (b) Yorkshire in the last five years.

Mark Prisk: The money spent by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) on its trade delivery activity in Yorkshire and Humber over the past five years is as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 2,868,000 
			 2007-08 2,681,000 
			 2008-09 2,478,000 
			 2009-10 2,562,000 
			 2010-11 (April to October) 1,656,000 
		
	
	Expenditure on sub-regional activity across Yorkshire and the Humber (Y&H) is not available but will broadly reflect the business densities in different parts of the Y&H region. Based on previous activity contracted through Business Link North Yorkshire (up to 31 March 2008), we estimate that around 15% of UKTI's trade delivery expenditure is focused on North Yorkshire.
	These figures exclude direct grants that companies obtained from UKTI for attendance at overseas trade fairs and exhibitions.

Workers' Educational Association: Finance

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has for expenditure on  (a) the Workers' Educational Association and  (b) other special designated institutions; and if he will make a statement.

John Hayes: 'Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth' (16 November 2010) sets out the funding strategy for post-19 further education (FE) and skills. In 2011-12 financial year we will invest £3.9 billion to support an expansion of adult (19+) apprenticeships, fully subsidise basic literacy and numeracy and first full level 2 and level 3 qualifications for young adults. We will also support individuals who are unemployed and on active benefits, and protect and reform spending on adult and community learning.
	The allocation of funding for the 2011/12 academic year will be carried out by the Skills Funding Agency, over the coming months, in line with the overall post-19 FE and skills funding envelope. This will include making funding allocations for the Workers' Educational Association and other specialist designated institutions.

Yorkshire Forward: Assets

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions his Department has had on the sale of assets owned by Yorkshire Forward.

Mark Prisk: This Department has been having ongoing discussions on the principles and process for the disposal of all RDA assets and liabilities. Detailed guidance to RDAs is still being prepared and this will enable plans to be developed for transition. Until these plans are completed there will be no decisions on the sale or transfer of assets (outside ordinary course disposals) unless there are compelling time pressures which require an early decision be made. The plans will aim to secure maximum value for money for the taxpayer and optimum benefits to the region in question.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Coal

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the amount of surface or near-surface coal available in the UK; and what assessment he has made of its potential contribution to meeting the UK's energy needs.

Charles Hendry: The following table provides a breakdown of identified surface coal reserves in the UK.
	
		
			   Million tonnes 
			  Current sites and licences  
			 Operational sites 40 
			 Planning granted 18 
			 In planning process 20 
			 Pre-planning 54 
			   
			  Prospects previously identified by British Coal  
			 Well developed 121 
			 Fully and partly proved 142 
			 Potential 474 
			   
			 Total 869 
			  Source: The Coal Authority, March 2010 
		
	
	The Government's main policy objective in relation to the coal industry is to ensure that the United Kingdom is enabled to make best use of a valuable natural resource where it is economically viable and environmentally acceptable to do so.
	In 2009 coal provided 28% of the UK's electricity supply.
	 Source:
	Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2010, Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Energy: Housing

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many households in each electoral ward in the UK received assistance in respect of each measure delivered by each energy supplier under the Carbon Emission Reduction targets in each quarter from April 2008 to October 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: Information on the regional distribution of measures installed under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) scheme was published for the first time on 16 September, demonstrating this Government's commitment to greater transparency. The provision of this information is possible due to a voluntary agreement negotiated by Government with energy suppliers and the Energy Saving Trust. Information on individual energy supplier activity at a regional level is not available.
	The Energy Saving Trust report details the number of cavity wall and loft insulation measures installed in each local authority area in Great Britain (CERT is not delivered in Northern Ireland) for each of the first two years of CERT. The report is available at:
	http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/business/Business/Information/Homes-Energy-Efficiency-Database-HEED/CERT-reports-from-HEED
	A copy is available in the Libraries of the House.

Energy: Prices

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what provisions he plans to include in the Energy Security and Green Economy Bill to ensure that energy companies enable customers to compare tariffs easily; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The Energy Security and Green Energy Bill will include powers to require energy suppliers to inform consumers through their bills about the cheapest available tariff to give customers greater control over their energy costs.

Heating

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will assess the carbon footprint of heat pumps; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The carbon footprint of a heat pump is dependent on a number of factors including its overall efficiency, whether it is providing space heating and/or hot water, temperature lifts, the refrigerant used, the size of the building, levels of insulation, the hours of operation, and various design, installation and maintenance issues. The EU renewables directive requires that heat pumps must have a minimum Seasonal Performance Factor in order to qualify as a renewable source. The Commission are to issue guidance on how the Seasonal Performance Factor is to be calculated.
	An SPF of around 2.7 would make CO2 emissions from gas condensing boilers and heat pumps more or less equivalent with today's grid intensity. At this level of performance the CO2 emissions associated with running a heat pump are considerably lower than those associated with using either oil or electric resistive heating. CO2 savings against all these fuels will improve further, as the electricity grid decarbonises. The Energy Saving Trust field trials are not complete, but, when they are, they will provide useful information on the actual system efficiencies, as well as information to improve installation and maintenance practice.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether loan guarantees constitute a public subsidy for the purposes of his policy on the construction of new nuclear power stations; and if he will make a statement.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 22 November 2010
	The Government have not had cause to consider any specific proposal for loan guarantees in the context of its policy of no subsidy for new nuclear power. It would not be appropriate to speculate in the absence of any specific proposal, but my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out the generality of the Government's policy in a detailed written statement on 18 October 2010,  Official Report, column 44WS.

Radioactive Waste

Louise Bagshawe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of capacity of low-level nuclear waste disposal sites.

Charles Hendry: An extensive review of low level waste (LLW) management practices was carried out for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in 2008, published as the LLW strategic review in January 2009 and made publicly available on the Low Level Waste Repository (LLWR) website. This review considered all aspects of LLW management including disposal infrastructure.
	The strategic review fully recognised that, without improvements in application of the waste hierarchy to avoid waste creation and promote recycling, volume reduction, better waste segregation and use of more appropriate waste disposal routes, the LLWR in Cumbria (which has in the past been the default destination for much LLW) will not provide the capacity required to manage the whole of the UK's projected inventory of LLW. A significant opportunity is to preserve capacity at LLWR for those wastes that require the levels of safety and environmental protection provided by the facility, and to develop better waste segregation and alternative disposal capacity for lower hazard LLW and very low level waste.
	A revision of the LLW strategic review is currently underway and will be published in the next few months.

Wind Power

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of energy in the UK will be supplied by wind technology by 2030.

Charles Hendry: There is currently no target for renewable energy in 2030. Estimates of how much electricity will be supplied by wind in 2030 differ greatly, reflecting high levels of uncertainty. The 2050 pathways analysis(1) has four trajectories for wind development, which have the following implications for wind deployment in 2030 (all shown in TWh/year in 2030):
	
		
			  TWh/year in 2030  Onshore wind  Offshore wind  Total wind 
			 Level 1 22 22 43 
			 Level 2 53 137 190 
			 Level 3 82 213 295 
			 Level 4 113 307 420 
		
	
	Future electricity and energy demand is also uncertain. Under the 2050 alpha scenario, for example (seven pathways were published), onshore wind and offshore are both assumed to be at level 2, and total electricity generation around 563TWh (nearly 50% higher than in 2009). In this scenario (one of many possibilities), wind would represent around 34% of total electricity generation.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has written to the Committee on Climate Change asking them to consider the level of ambition for renewables for 2020 and possible pathways through to 2030. They should provide final recommendations by the end of March 2011.
	(1) 2050 Pathways Analysis available at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we-do/lc_uk/2050/2050.aspx

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departmental Written Questions

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what proportion of questions tabled to the Secretary of State for written answer on a named day were answered substantively before or on the day named for answer  (a) in Session 2009-10 and  (b) since May 2010; how many such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 had not received a substantive answer by 18 November 2010; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to his Department of answering a question for written answer on a named day on the day named for answer in the latest period for which figures are available.

Owen Paterson: The information is as follow:
	 (a) The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions for the 2009-10 session. This information will be submitted to the Procedure Committee shortly.
	 (b) In the period from May 2010 to 12 November 2010, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) received a total of nine named day parliamentary questions, of which six (67%) were answered on or before the day named.
	All questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 have received a substantive answer.
	An estimation of the costs in answering parliamentary questions was provided in a written ministerial statement on 20 January 2010,  Official Report, column 15WS.

Departmental Written Questions

Paul Beresford: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what proportion of questions tabled to the Secretary of State for ordinary written answer  (a) in Session 2009-10 and  (b) since May 2010 were answered within (i) seven days and (ii) 14 days of tabling; how many such questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 remained unanswered by 18 November 2010; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to his Department of answering a question for ordinary written answer within seven days of tabling in the latest period for which figures are available.

Owen Paterson: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Government have committed to providing the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions for the 2009-10 session. This information will be submitted to the Procedure Committee shortly.
	 (b) My Department does not hold this information in the format requested. In the period from May 2010 to 12 November 2010, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) received a total of 111 ordinary written parliamentary questions, of which 81 (73%) were answered within five sitting days.
	All questions tabled between May 2010 and 12 November 2010 have received a substantive answer.
	An estimation of the costs in answering parliamentary questions was provided in a written ministerial statement on 20 January 2010,  Official Report, column 15WS.

Eames-Bradley Report

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library a copy of each written representation received by his Department on the Eames-Bradley report since May 2010.

Owen Paterson: The public consultation on the Eames-Bradley report took place under the previous Government and I published a detailed summary of the responses in July of this year. I will place a copy of this summary in the Library. The Government have not received formal written representations on the report since May 2010, but continues to receive correspondence on the wider question of dealing with the past, some of which notes the contents of the Eames-Bradley report.

Historical Enquiries Team: Finance

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of the funding allocated to the Historical Enquiries Team was spent on  (a) staff accommodation and  (b) staff transport costs, including flights, in each of the last three years.

Owen Paterson: Since the devolution of policing and justice on 12 April 2010, all matters relating to the work of the Historical Enquires Team rest with the Northern Ireland Department of Justice. The hon. Lady may therefore wish to write to the Justice Minister (David Ford) in relation to this matter.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Programme

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was allocated for  (a) sign language interpreters,  (b) palantypists,  (c) office adjustments and  (d) other support for people with hearing impairment through the Access to Work scheme in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10.

Maria Miller: I am unable to answer this question as the Access to Work management information system does not categorise support provided down to this level of detail.

Access to Work Programme

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with hearing impairment participated in the Access to Work scheme in  (a) 2007-08,  (b) 2008-09 and  (c) 2009-10.

Maria Miller: Access to Work helped the following number of people in each year who said that their primary medical condition was "difficulty in hearing":
	
		
			   Number 
			 2007-08 4,450 
			 2008-09 4,920 
			 2009-10 5,460

Access to Work Programme

Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was allocated to the Access to Work scheme in 2010-11; and how much he plans to allocate to the scheme in  (a) 2011-12,  (b) 2012-13 and  (c) 2013-14.

Maria Miller: Budgets for directly delivered programmes such as Access to Work are subject to in-year review and it is not possible to specify in advance the amounts that will be spent. Information on spend is however available after the end of a financial year.

Disability Living Allowance

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people in receipt of the mobility component of the disability living allowance  (a) were moved from the higher to the lower rate mobility component and  (b) had that component of the allowance removed (i) in 2009 and (ii) since May 2010.

Maria Miller: The proportion of disability living allowance claimants with mobility component in payment who moved from higher to lower rate or had their allowance removed in 2009 is in the following table. This information is not yet available for the period from May 2010.
	
		
			Move d from h igher to  l ower  r ate   Had allowance removed 
			  Quarter to:  Higher mobility in payment  Number  Percentage  Mobility in payment  Number  Percentage 
			 February 2009 1,745,830 1,010 0.1 2,623,810 39,140 1.5 
			 May 2009 1,750,760 1,020 0.1 2,643,950 36,620 1.4 
			 August 2009 1,758,140 1,070 0.1 2,667,090 35,910 1.3 
			 November 2009 1,765,610 1,300 0.1 2,689,310 40,730 1.5 
			  Notes: 1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Percentages are rounded to one decimal point. 2. "-" = Nil or negligible. 3. Totals show both the number of people in receipt of an allowance and those with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 4. 'Had allowance removed' are those with mobility in payment in the previous quarter who no longer receive a payment.  Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate

Disability Living Allowance: Care Homes

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will reverse his decision to remove the mobility component of disability living allowance for adults in residential care and children in residential special schools.

Maria Miller: The spending review announced that the mobility component of disability living allowance would be removed from adults in residential care and children in residential schools.
	Proposals for disability living allowance reform will be informed by responses to the consultation document which we will publish shortly.
	We will be making clearer as we move towards the Bill exactly how the measure to cease paying mobility component of DLA to people in care homes will affect particular groups.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to increase the level of access to employment opportunities of disabled people who are able and willing to work.

Maria Miller: The Department is committed to increasing access to employment opportunities for disabled people and others who experience complex barriers to employment, and to working closely with organisations which will help achieve this aim.
	To this end, we will introduce the Work Programme which will be an integrated package of support providing personalised help to a broad range of individuals, including those who may previously have been receiving incapacity benefits for many years. We will offer providers differentiated levels of payment for supporting harder customers into work to ensure it is worthwhile for providers to provide them with support. We aim to have the Work Programme in place nationally by the summer of 2011.
	Alongside the Work Programme, we will offer flexible support through Jobcentre Plus. The support Jobcentre Plus delivers to customers across all working age benefits will allow more flexibility to Jobcentre Plus managers and advisers to judge which interventions will help individual customers most cost effectively and meet local need.
	On 25 October 2010 we launched Work Choice, a new pan-disability supported employment programme for disabled people, which provides tailored support and targets those customers who face the most complex barriers in reaching or retaining employment, including self-employment. Under a new funding model in which prime providers work closely with their subcontractors, individuals get early, quality support that helps them progress at work and, where it is appropriate for the individual, helps them move into sustainable long-term employment.
	In the coalition agreement we announced
	"We will reform Access to Work, so disabled people can apply for jobs with funding already secured for any adaptations and equipment they will need".
	We are developing plans for delivering this commitment and further details will be announced in due course.

Future Jobs Fund: Third Sector

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the name is of each third sector organisation funded directly by his Department to implement the future jobs fund; and for how many young people each provided a placement.

Chris Grayling: The table containing details of the third sector organisations which bid to the fund as lead accountable bodies will be placed in the Library. These organisations were awarded future jobs fund funding.
	The future jobs fund was designed to provide temporary jobs for 18 to 24-year-olds and others, including older people, living in disadvantaged areas. Bidders to the fund were required to state how many of the jobs they would deliver were for 18 to 24-year-olds and how many would be for disadvantaged areas. Where this split is known it is reflected in the table.

Homelessness

Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to publish each impact assessment undertaken by his Department on the effect on  (a) homelessness,  (b) persons living in supported accommodation and  (c) other vulnerable groups of the public expenditure announcements in the June 2010 Budget and the spending review 2010 prior to the introduction of any relevant legislative proposals.

Steve Webb: In line with the Department's commitment to transparency, all measures in relation to the Budget and spending review have and will be equality impact assessed. Where the detail of policies is still being developed, we plan to publish at the same time as the Welfare Reform Bill or to accompany the Uprating Order. Some policies, such as the DLA Reform will be subject to consultation therefore the equality impact assessment would be published at a later date.
	The equality impacts of Budget changes have been published where detail of the policy has been finalised and can be found through this link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/impact%2Dassessments/equality%2Dimpact%2Dassessments/
	we will publish, on the spending review web oage, a fuller update on the current position for all relevant policies shortly.

Housing Benefit: Down's Syndrome

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make an assessment of the effects of the proposed changes in the provision of housing benefit for people who have been on jobseeker's allowance for 12 months or more on people with Down's syndrome; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The detailed design of the measure is being developed and we are carefully considering the impact on all benefit customers, including those people claiming jobseeker's allowance who have a degree of disability.
	While the measure will not apply to people who are not required to seek work, we recognise the specific difficulties that some people face in getting work, and Jobcentre Plus has an integrated system in place to address these diverse needs.
	We will publish an equality impact assessment to accompany the Welfare Reform Bill.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

Chris Grayling: The amount spent by DWP on services from the Institute of Fiscal Studies for eight of the last 10 years is shown in the following table. Data for 2001-02 and 2002-03 are not centrally available and would be obtainable only at a disproportionate cost. The 2010-11 value is for the period 1 April to 31 October 2010.
	
		
			  Supplier   Spend (£) 
			 Institute For Fiscal Studies 2010-11 50,280 
			  2009-10 237,800 
			  2008-09 264,957 
			  2007-08 189,972 
			  2006-07 332,062 
			  2005-06 328,228 
			  2004-05 197,279 
			  2003-04 £88,542 
			 Total  1,689,120 
		
	
	Of the £35,235 spent since 1 May 2010, £29,990 was for analysis of the Wealth and Assets Survey and was committed to prior to the general election, £5,125 was paid to the IFS to validate the annual poverty statistics (this is a long standing commitment which uses the vast amount of expertise the IFS has in analysing these datasets) and £120 was for miscellaneous costs.

Public Sector: Pay

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many part-time workers who earn £20,000 or more pro rata annually will be affected by the public sector pay freeze; and how many of these part-time workers are women.

Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has 18,349 part-time workers earning £20,000 or more (pro rata) of whom 16,417 are female.
	However the pay freeze covers employees who earn above £21,000. DWP has 16,184 employees who work part-time and earn more than £21,000 per annum (pro rata) and are therefore affected by the pay freeze. 14,424 of these employees are female. Of all part-time employees, 42% of women and 43% of men working part time are affected by the pay freeze.

Remploy

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what date he plans to determine the future of Remploy.

Maria Miller: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Wrexham (Ian Lucas) on 26 October 2010,  Official Report, column 195W.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effect on disabled people of the proposed rise in the state pension age; what estimate he has made of the number of disabled people who will be affected; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: The Government's full response to the review of State Pension age, "A sustainable State Pension: when the State Pension age will increase to 66" was published on 3 November. This contains an equality impact assessment including a disability impact.

Vacancies: North West and Flintshire

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job vacancies were advertised in jobcentres in  (a) City of Chester constituency,  (b) Cheshire,  (c) Flintshire and  (d) the North West in September 2010.

Chris Grayling: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Darra Singh:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many job vacancies were advertised in jobcentres in (a) City of Chester constituency (b) Cheshire (c) Flintshire and (d) the North West in September 2010. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The data requested for September is not available. The Jobcentre vacancy data for September 2010 has been withdrawn; this is due to problems identified with the source data, which we are currently investigating.
	I am able to provide the data for August and October 2010 shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of advertised vacancies in the areas shown 
			  Area  August 2010 live unfilled vacancies  October 2010 live unfilled vacancies 
			 City of Chester 796 1,018 
			 Cheshire 4,053 4,747 
			 Flintshire 922 963 
			 North West 32,778 40,293 
			  Source: Jobcentre Plus Labour Market System 19 November 2010

Veterinary Services: Regulation

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what regulations govern the work of veterinary surgeons in  (a) pig and poultry abattoirs and  (b) meat-cutting plants.

Anne Milton: I have been asked to reply.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for official controls in all approved fresh meat establishments in Great Britain to verify that food business operators comply with hygiene and other legislation including animal welfare. Approved fresh meat establishments include abattoirs; cutting plants; game handling establishments; meat preparations and meat products establishments; and co-located cold stores.
	Veterinary surgeons working in approved fresh meat establishments are employed either directly or indirectly, as contract staff, by the FSA.
	The work which these veterinary surgeons carry out in fresh meat establishments is governed by EC Regulation 854/2004 and the United Kingdom Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966.

TREASURY

Banks: Finance

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what rate of interest is charged on loans and guarantees made from the Exchequer to financial institutions in public ownership.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 9 November 2010
	Details of the loans and guarantees provided by HM Treasury for financial stability purposes to financial institutions partly and wholly owned by the Treasury are set out in the Treasury's Resource Accounts for 2008-09 (HC611) and for 2009-10 (HC261).
	The interest rate on HM Treasury's loan to Northern Rock (Asset Management) plc (NRAM) is currently charged at Bank Base Rate plus 25 basis points. The outstanding loan as at 30 June 2010 was £22.5 billion.
	NRAM has also been provided with a working capital facility of up to £2.5 billion by HM Treasury which is currently undrawn. Any drawdown on this is subject to a one off utilisation fee of 50 basis points on the amount drawn. NRAM pays HM Treasury a monthly fee of £1 million for HM Treasury's guarantee of its wholesale liabilities.
	HMT has removed its retail and wholesale guarantees in place for Northern Rock plc, with the exception of certain fixed term retail and wholesale balances which are guaranteed to maturity. Northern Rock plc pays a fee of 50 basis points on guaranteed retail deposit balances, and a fee of 200 basis points on guaranteed wholesale balances.
	The interest rate on the working capital facility provided by HM Treasury to Bradford and Bingley plc (B&B) is currently charged at Bank Base Rate plus 150 basis points. As at 30 June 2010 B&B had drawn £8.5 billion on the working capital facility. In respect of the guarantees provided by HM Treasury, B&B pays a fee of between 120 basis points and 300 basis points on guaranteed wholesale balances depending upon the class of liability.
	The interest rate on HM Treasury's loan to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme is charged at 12 month LIBOR plus 30 basis points. This rate is subject to re-negotiation from March 2012.

Child Benefit: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made a recent estimate of the number of households with a higher rate taxpayer in  (a) Scotland,  (b) Glasgow and  (c) Glasgow East constituency which receive child benefit.

David Gauke: holding answer 13 October 2010
	In 2010-11, the number of households with a higher rate taxpayer in Scotland which receive child benefit is 100,000.
	Information on household income for child benefit claimants is not available at parliamentary constituency level.

Child Benefit: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 15 November 2010,  Official Report, column 614W, on child benefit in Scotland, what the evidential basis is for his estimate that 120,000 households will be affected by the withdrawal of child benefit in 2013.

David Gauke: The information provided in the answer of 15 November 2010,  Official Report, column 614W, on child benefit in Scotland is based on data from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) from 2007-08. These data are used in the Inter-Governmental Tax and Benefit Model (IGoTM) to model household tax and benefit levels, projected to 2013.

Child Tax Credit

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of child tax credit on work incentives; and if he will make a statement.

Justine Greening: It is the impact of the tax and benefit system as a whole that is important for work incentives, rather than particular aspects of the system in isolation, such as child tax credit.
	The new universal credit, introduced over two Parliaments, will replace the current complex system of means-tested working-age benefits with a simple streamlined payment. The universal credit will improve financial work incentives by ensuring that support is reduced at a consistent and managed rate as people return to work and increase their working hours and earnings.

Company Accounts

David Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on country-by-country reporting of company profits and tax liabilities.

David Gauke: The OECD informal taskforce on tax and development is examining the merits of country-by-country reporting by multinational enterprises, and Ministers are monitoring the progress of this work closely.

Corporation Tax: Financial Services

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the total corporation tax receipts attributable to the banking, finance and insurance sector in each year from 1990 to 2010; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: Historical figures for corporation tax receipts since 2000-01 paid by the financial sector and several other broadly-defined business sectors are regularly updated and published in Table 11.1, on the HMRC National Statistics website. The latest update is available here:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/corporate_tax/table11_1.pdf
	Equivalent information for years prior to 2000-01 is not available. Historical figures for annual corporation tax receipts were published in Table 1.2 on the HMRC National Statistics website (available here):
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax receipts/1_2_v2_dec05.pdf

Departmental Postal Services

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the monetary value was of contracts between his Department and  (a) Post Office Ltd and  (b) Royal Mail in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) each year since 2004-05;
	(2)  what services provided by his Department were the subject of a contract with Post Office Ltd in 1997-98 and have subsequently become the subject of a contract with another supplier; and what the monetary value was of each such contract in  (a) 1997-98 and  (b) the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  which services of his Department have been the subject of a contract awarded in a tender process in which Post Office Ltd submitted a bid since 1997-98.

Justine Greening: The total value of payments made by the Treasury each year to the Royal Mail and the Post Office are:
	
		
			  £ 
			  Spend (inc. VAT) in financial year  Royal Mail  Post Office Ltd 
			 2002-03 4,556.89 - 
			 2003-04 2,716.55 - 
			 2004-05 1,234.57 - 
			 2005-06 1,556.47 120,437.50 
			 2006-07 8,275.30 - 
			 2007-08 13,049.04 - 
			 2008-09 15,650.37 - 
			 2009-10 16,364.15 - 
			  Note: Information prior to 2002-03 is not available due to the introduction of a new accounting system at that time. 
		
	
	The Royal Mail provides external mail services to HM Treasury. In 2005 the Post Office provided services in support of a digital media and leaflet campaign.
	Records of tenders, contracts and services from the Post Office Ltd from 1997-98 are not held centrally could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Dunfermline Building Society: KPMG

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what payments have been made to KPMG for work as administrators for those elements of the Dunfermline Building Society business not transferred to Nationwide.

Mark Hoban: KPMG, the administrators of Dunfermline Building Society, publish six-monthly progress reports. These reports include full details of costs charged by KPMG to Dunfermline. The third progress report was sent to all creditors on 26 August 2010. The progress reports are available from the KPMG website:
	http://rd.kpmg.co.uk/WhatWeDo/18300.htm
	Between 30 March 2009 and 30 July 2010 the remuneration fee paid to KPMG was £13.4 million for their work as administrators.

Dunfermline Building Society: KPMG

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what instructions were given to KPMG as administrators on the sale of those elements of the Dunfermline Building Society business not transferred to Nationwide.

Mark Hoban: On the application of the Bank of England, KPMG were appointed as the building society special administrators of Dunfermline Building Society (DBS) by virtue of an order of the Court of Session dated 30 March 2009.
	The objectives of KPMG, are set out in the Banking Act 2009 sections 137 to 140 as applied by the order made under section 158 of the Act (S.I. 2009/805).
	The objectives are to provide support to the acquirer of assets and liabilities by virtue of an exercise of the resolution powers, and, once that objective has been fulfilled, to achieve a better result for the building society's creditors (including all holders of shares in the society) as a whole.
	No directions have been issued to KPMG by the Treasury.

Economic Growth

Hywel Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of economic growth for each  (a) region and  (b) country in the UK for each year of the comprehensive spending review period.

Danny Alexander: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing the official economic and fiscal forecasts. The OBR's Budget forecast does not include a sub-national forecast.
	The current forecast, published on 22 June 2010, is available at:
	http://budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/index.html
	The OBR will publish a new forecast on 29 November 2010.
	While forecasts for economic growth are not made at a sub-national level, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) annually publishes data on GVA for the English regions and the devolved countries. This is available at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=14650
	and the next publication is expected in December 2010.

Energy: Subsidies

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the outcomes were of his discussions with his G20 counterparts at the recent meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Gyeongju on energy subsidy reform.

Justine Greening: G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors met on 22-23 October 2010 in Gyeongju, in the Republic of Korea. At this meeting they noted the progress made on rationalizing and phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies and promoting energy market transparency and stability. They agreed to monitor and assess progress towards this commitment at the Seoul Summit.

EU Budget

David Nuttall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what forecast in pounds sterling he has made of the UK contribution to the EU budget in the period 2007-2013 that will result specifically from the application of Article 4(1)(g) of Council Decision 2007/436/EC, Euratom to the system of European Communities' own resources.

Justine Greening: The abatement disapplication was agreed by the previous Government in 2005, and means the UK no longer receives an EU budget rebate on non-agriculture spending in member states that joined the EU after 2004.
	According to European Commission figures, the disapplication of the UK abatement referred to in article 4(1 )(g) of Council Decision 2007/436/EC costs the UK £286 million in 2009, £1.2 billion in 2010 and £1.98 billion in 2011.
	Thereafter, with the abatement disapplication fully phased in, the cost to the UK is expected to be around £2 billion per annum.
	This is being phased in as follows:
	20% in 2009;
	70% in 2010;
	100% from 2011.
	The total additional cost of the abatement disapplication is capped in the period 2007-13 to a total of 10.5 billion euros (expressed in 2004 prices).

EU Budget

David Nuttall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's most recent  (a) outturn,  (b) estimated and  (c) forecast figures are in pounds sterling for the UK's gross contribution to the EU budget for the financial year (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10, (iii) 2010-11, (iv) 2011-12, (v) 2012-13 and (vi) 2013-14.

Justine Greening: Table 2.9 of the supplementary material to the June Budget 2010 (see page 27) provides the latest projections for the UK's "Net expenditure transfers to EU institutions" to the EU budget for the fiscal years 2008-09 (outturn) to 2015-16 (forecasts). This is the UK gross national income (GNI) contributions less the UK's abatement. New projections will be provided by the Office of Budget Responsibility in their autumn forecast at the end of November. The following table includes the figures presented in the latest forecast, and historical figures back to 2008-09.
	Historical data on the total UK's gross contributions to the EU (net of the abatement) can be found in the table C.1 (page 176) of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses, published in July 2010.
	The main reasons for the increasing profile of UK's gross contributions are the increase in the size of the budget and the disapplication of the abatement to non-agricultural spending in the new member states. The EU budget for the period 2007-13 was agreed by the previous Government in 2005.
	The Government are very concerned about the UK's growing contributions to the EU budget and is working hard to reduce them. In particular, in the negotiation of the 2011 EU budget, the Government have not reached an agreement with the European Parliament given their wider demands beyond the 2011 EU budget. The Government will continue to engage constructively in further negotiations aimed at securing taxpayers a fair outcome for the 2011 EU budget.
	In addition, at the October meeting of the European Council, the UK secured an unprecedented and important new principle. From now on the EU budget will reflect the spending cuts being made by national governments, including in the crucial 2014-20 EU spending round.
	
		
			  Net expenditure transfers to EU institutions( 1) 
			   £ billion 
			 2008-09 3.1 
			 2009-10 6.4 
			 2010-11 8.3 
			 2011-12 8.3 
			 2012-13 8.3 
			 2013-14 9.3 
			 2014-15 10.3 
			 2015-16 8.7 
			 (1) "Net expenditure transfers to EU institutions" is the UK GNI contribution less the UK's abatement.

EU Budget

David Nuttall: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's most recent  (a) outturn,  (b) estimated and  (c) forecast figures are in pounds sterling for the UK's net contribution to the EU budget for the financial year (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12, (iv) 2012-13 and (v) 2013-14.

Justine Greening: Table 2.9 of the supplementary material to the June Budget 2010 (see p. 27) provides the latest projections for the UK's net contribution to the EU budget for the fiscal years 2008-09 (outturn) to 2015-16 (forecasts). New projections will be provided by the Office of Budget Responsibility in their autumn forecast at the end of November. The following table include the figures presented in the latest forecast, and historical figures back to 2009-10.
	The main reasons for the increasing profile of UK's net contributions are the increase in the size of the budget and the disapplication of the abatement to non-agricultural spending in the new member states. The EU budget for the period 2007-13 was agreed by the previous Government in 2005.
	The Government are very concerned about the UK's growing contributions to the EU budget and is working hard to reduce them. In particular, in the negotiation of the 2011 EU budget, the Government have not reached an agreement with the European Parliament given their wider demands beyond the 2011 EU budget. The Government will continue to engage constructively in further negotiations aimed at securing taxpayers a fair outcome for the 2011 EU budget.
	In addition, at the October meeting of the European Council, the UK secured an unprecedented and important new principle. From now on the EU budget will reflect the spending cuts being made by national governments, including in the crucial 2014-20 EU spending round.
	
		
			   Net payments to EU institutions( 1)  Net contribution to EU budget( 2) 
			 2009-10 3.8 4.7 
			 2010-11 6.8 7.7 
			 2011-12 6.6 7.6 
			 2012-13 6.6 7.6 
			 2013-14 7.6 8.6 
			 2014-15 8.6 9.5 
			 2015-16 7.3 8.2 
			 (1) "Net payments to EU institutions" is as below, less that part of the UK's contribution that is attributed to the external aid programme. (2) "Net contribution to EU budget" is the gross national income, VAT and traditional own resources contributions (gross contribution) less the UK's abatement, less public receipts.

EU External Trade: Israel

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2010,  Official Report, column 549-50W, on EU external trade: Israel, how many incidents HM Revenue and Customs has recorded of false declarations by importers in respect of the preferential origin of goods  (a) in total and  (b) under the EU-Israel Trade Agreement in each of the last five years.

David Gauke: The number of cases involving false declarations by importers in respect of preferential origin are as follows:
	
		
			   Imports from all countries  Imports under the EU-Israel Agreement 
			 2006 86 24 
			 2007 98 7 
			 2008 81 8 
			 2009 65 12 
			 2010 46 (1)14 
			 (1) To date. 
		
	
	Each case may involve several import declarations. I am told by HMRC that because country information is maintained on a case by case basis, it would be an onerous task to extract and collate the information in respect of the number of incorrect origin declarations for all countries. However, it is able to provide figures for the number of incorrect origin declarations for goods imported under the EU-Israel Agreement.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2006 127 
			 2007 214 
			 2008 20 
			 2009 26 
			 2010 (1)47 
			 (1) To date.

EU External Trade: Israel

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2010,  Official Report, columns 548-9W, on EU external trade: Israel, whether the accompanying documentation indicates Israel as the place of origin; and whether he has received a response from the Israeli authorities.

David Gauke: The documentation accompanying the three consignments of products under Commodity Code 3401 3000 referred to in the previous answer, in each case showed Israel as the place of origin. HMRC confirm that a response is still awaited from the Israeli authorities.

European Financial Stability Mechanism

William Cash: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on the implementation of the regulation governing the procedure for the European Financial Stability Mechanism; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 22 November 2010
	The regulation governing the European Financial Stability Mechanism is based on article 122(2) of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union. The regulation was immediately binding on all member states the day after its publication in the  Official Journal of the European Union on 12 May. It is activated by the Council acting by Qualified Majority Voting on a proposal from the Commission. The Commission has not yet made a formal proposal.

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when he plans to publish the outcomes of his Department's review of alcohol taxation and pricing;
	(2)  when his Department plans to publish the responses received to its review of alcohol taxation and pricing.

Justine Greening: The Treasury is considering all responses submitted to the review of alcohol taxation, and will report shortly.

Financial Inclusion Fund

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what  (a) initiatives and  (b) projects the Financial Inclusion Fund has funded in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: holding answer 1 November 2010
	Since 2005 the Financial Inclusion Fund has supported a number of Government projects and initiatives including the following:
	A face-to-face money advice project delivered by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills;
	A debt advice project in prison locations across England and Wales, delivered by the National Offender Management Service;
	A growth fund for credit unions and community development finance institutions, delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions;
	A financial inclusion champions initiative, and a public campaign, 'now let's talk money', delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions;
	A project to tackle illegal money lending, delivered by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills;
	A 'Save Xmas' campaign, delivered by the Office of Fair Trading;
	The Financial Inclusion Taskforce.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the  (a) gross and  (b) net effect on tax revenues of the introduction of the 50 per cent. tax band; what behavioural assumptions underlie these estimates; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: The estimated revenue to be raised from the 50% rate of income tax on incomes over £150,000 was £1.3 billion in 2010-11, £3.1 billion in 2011-12, and £2.7 billion in 2012-13. These estimates are as shown in the March Budget 2010 report, table A11 on page 140, available at:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/budget2010_annexa.pdf
	The 50% tax rate costings include an estimated behavioural response to allow for changes in work effort, tax planning, avoidance, evasion or migration motivated by the tax increase. These factors reduce the potential static yield from the measures by around two-thirds.

Monetary Policy

Steven Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much debt interest has been paid on Government securities held by the Bank of England and its subsidiaries in the last 12 months.

Mark Hoban: In the 12 months to end September 2010, the Bank of England and its subsidiaries have received the following interest on holdings of UK Government debt securities:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 Banking Department 187 
			 Issue Department 282 
			 Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility Fund Ltd 8,527 
			 Total 8,996

Pensions: Annuities

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to introduce transitional measures for those yet to secure a retirement income who will reach 75 years before his Department removes the requirement to purchase a pension annuity.

Mark Hoban: The June Budget announced the intention to end the existing rules that create an effective obligation to purchase an annuity by age 75 from April 2011, including transitional arrangements for those yet to secure an income who will reach age 75 in the meantime. These ensure that those up to the age of 77 will not be required to annuitise their pension savings while the changes to the legislation are put in place.
	These transitional arrangements were included in the Finance Bill introduced after the emergency Budget which received Royal Assent on 27 July 2010. The relevant parts of the legislation setting out the transitional rules are section 6 and schedule 3 to the Finance (No. 2) Act 2010. The transitional measures are also explained in Budget Note 22, which can be found on the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2010/bn22.htm

Public Expenditure

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the spending of each Department in 2008-09 prices was in  (a) 1996-97,  (b) 2009-10,  (c) 2008-09; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: Spend for 2009-10 and 2008-09 are sourced directly from PESA, July 2010, Cm 7890. Due to changes in the budgeting framework and machinery of Government the Treasury is unable to provide figures which are fully consistent back to 1996-97. Treasury only maintains the last five years on a consistent basis (i.e. updated to reflect the changes highlighted above). The data for 1996-97 is sourced from PESA 1999-2000, Cm 4201.
	The data provided are, therefore, not fully comparable.
	
		
			  PESA 1999-2000, 2008-09 prices 
			   1996-97 outturn 
			  DEL  
			 Education and Employment 18,811 
			 Health 45,344 
			 DETR - Main programme 12,981 
			 DETR - Local Government and Regional Policy 42,053 
			 Home Office 8,642 
			 Legal Departments 3,527 
			 Defence 28,713 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1,414 
			 International Development 2,814 
			 Trade and Industry 4,471 
			 Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 2,848 
			 Culture, Media and Sport 1,288 
			 Social Security (administration) 4,719 
			 Scotland 17,329 
			 Wales 8,693 
			 Northern Ireland 7,192 
			 Chancellor's Departments 3,875 
			 Cabinet Office 1,552 
			  AME  
			 Social Security benefits 120,513 
			 Housing Revenue Account Subsidies 5,618 
			 Common Agricultural Policy 3,932 
			 Exports Credits Guarantee Department 91 
			 Net public service pensions 6,714 
			 National Lottery 489 
			 Total departmental spending 353,624 
		
	
	
		
			  PESA 2010, 2008-09 prices 
			   2008-09 outturn  2009-10 estimated outturn 
			  Total spending by departmental group:   
			 Education 62,999 66,478 
			 Health 108,674 117,712 
			 Transport 13,260 14,399 
			 CLG Communities 12,307 13,688 
			 CLG Local Government 25,433 25,585 
			 Business, Innovation and Skills 22,795 26,576 
			 Home Office 10,560 10,899 
			 Justice 10,166 10,670 
			 Law Officers' Departments 731 721 
			 Defence 40,488 44,129 
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2,145 2,265 
			 International Development 5,830 6,870 
			 Energy and Climate Change 4,079 6,702 
			 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 2,864 2,971 
			 Culture, Media and Sport 6,733 6,970 
			 Work and Pensions 143,356 153,756 
			 Scotland 29,590 30,553 
			 Wales 14,382 15,383 
			 Northern Ireland Executive 15,470 16,530 
			 Northern Ireland Office 1,582 1,444 
			 Chancellor's Departments 161,576 79,449 
			 Cabinet Office 9,306 9,608 
			 Independent Bodies 798 841 
			 Allowance for Shortfall - -2,557 
			 Total departmental spending 705,125 661,642

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints HM Revenue and Customs has received about the availability of its VAT helpline in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Gauke: HMRC contact centres received eight complaints in October 2010 from customers who were unable to get through to its VAT and Excise helplines.

Tax Yields: Savings

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue attributable to tax on savings income in each year from 1990 to 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: Figures for the revenue arising from the taxation of savings income from 1997-98 to 20010-11 are shown in the following table. Figures for the years before 1997 are not available.
	
		
			   Income tax from savings (£ million) 
			 1997-98 4,140 
			 1998-99 5,490 
			 1999-2000 4,230 
			 2000-01 3,480 
			 2001-02 3,420 
			 2002-03 2,770 
			 2003-04 2,780 
			 2004-05 3,760 
			 2005-06 4,640 
			 2006-07 5,120 
			 2007-08 7,080 
			 2008-09 5,360 
			 2009-10 1,660 
			 2010-11 1,850

Taxation: Graduates

Matthew Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an estimate of the amount of net revenue to the Exchequer which would be raised by a graduate tax of 2 per cent. of graduates' income for 20 years.

David Gauke: Making an accurate estimate of the amount of yield from a graduate tax of 2% of a graduate's income over 20 years is dependent on a variety of criteria and behavioural impacts. We are therefore unable to provide an estimate of the yield as requested. To do so would be misleading on the basis of the evidence we have available at the present time.

Taxation: Inspections

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many inspections HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessors have carried out in respect of small and medium-sized enterprises in each year since 2000;
	(2)  how much revenue accrued to the Exchequer as a result of inspections of the tax affairs of small and medium-sized enterprises in each year since 2000;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the cost to HM Revenue and Customs and its predecessor of inspections of small and medium-sized enterprises in each year since 2000;
	(4)  what criteria HM Revenue and Customs takes into account when determining whether to investigate the tax affairs of a small or medium-sized enterprise.

David Gauke: We are not able to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost. However, we are able to provide information since the creation of our small and medium enterprise (SME) customer group in Local Compliance. The criteria of this customer group will not exactly match those of the small and medium-sized enterprises asked about because SME's are managed by many areas of HMRC such as Charities, Assets and Residence (CAR).
	
		
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			 Total settled interventions (number) 210,000 220,000 
			 Total revenue accrued (£ billion) 1.5 2.0 
		
	
	Due to the nature of the way these data are collated we are not able to break down the cost to HMRC of small and medium-sized enterprise interventions.
	HMRC determines to investigate cases on the basis of an identified risk or as part of our ongoing random inquiry programme. HMRC uses a range of information sources and risk identification systems to identify SME's who potentially may not have declared the correct amount of tax.

Trading Funds

John Thurso: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made an assessment of the effects on the economy of the commercial activities of government trading funds.

Danny Alexander: Government have not undertaken a specific assessment on the effects on the economy of the commercial activities of their trading funds. However, these bodies make an important contribution to the economy, at the regional and national level, both through their own employment base and since public data which they produce can be used by other companies to produce value-added data products which can help stimulate growth.

Working Tax Credit

David Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on  (a) work incentives,  (b) levels of employment and  (c) public expenditure of raising the minimum hour requirement for working tax credit from 16 hours per week to 30 hours per week; and if he will make a statement.

Justine Greening: People who work less than 30 hours are not generally entitled to working tax credit. However, the qualifying requirement is lower for some groups because they face greater barriers to working longer hours. For single adults with a child, or those with a disability, the qualifying requirement is 16 hours.
	The new universal credit, introduced over two Parliaments, will replace the current complex system of means-tested working-age benefits with a simple streamlined payment. The universal credit will improve financial work incentives by ensuring that support is reduced at a consistent and managed rate as people return to work and increase their working hours and earnings.

CABINET OFFICE

Employment: Pendle

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of the working population in Pendle constituency is employed in the  (a) public and  (b) private sector.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of the working population in Pendle constituency is employed in the (a) public and (b) private sector. (25904)
	Public sector employment statistics for local areas can be calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS). According to APS figures, in the 12 month period April 2009 to March 2010, 78 per cent of the working population of Pendle constituency was employed by the private sector with the remaining 22 per cent employed in the public sector.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Government Departments: Devolution

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has for a review of the role of devolution champions in Government Departments.

Francis Maude: The Government are committed to taking forward the devolution settlements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as a key part of its political reform agenda. Senior leadership, including devolution champions, within UK Government Departments have an important role to play in maximising departmental capacity to deal with the issues raised by the devolution settlements. This is part of a wider approach to enhancing the capacity of the UK Government to deal with devolution issues. We keep the approach under review to ensure it continues to meet this objective.

Ombudsman

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will bring forward proposals to regulate the use of the word ombudsman to limit its use to dispute-resolving bodies and other official organisations.

Francis Maude: Cabinet Office guidance "Ombudsman Schemes-Guidance for Departments" provides advice to Departments when setting up Ombudsman schemes or similar complaint-handling schemes, including the use of the term 'Ombudsman'.
	A copy of the guidance has been placed in the Library of the House and can also be accessed on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://download.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ombudsman/ombudsman-schemes-guidance.pdf

Unemployment: Older People

David Laws: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of people between the ages of  (a) 50 and 55,  (b) 55 and 60 and  (c) 60 and 65 are not in employment; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of people between the ages of a) 50 and 55 b) 55 and 60 and c) 60 and 65 are not in employment (25668).
	The table provided shows Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for individuals not in employment the UK.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number and proportion of people of who are not employed in the UK 
			  Quarter three 2010 
			  Not seasonally adjusted 
			  Age  Thousand  Percentage( 1) 
			 50 to 54 823 20.7 
			 55 to 59 1,026 28.9 
			 60 to 64 2,084 56.0 
			 (1) Percentage of relevant age band population.  Source: Labour Force Survey

Working Hours

David Laws: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people worked  (a) less than 16 hours per week,  (b) exactly 16 hours per week,  (c) more than 30 hours per week and  (d) more than 35 hours per week on average in each year from 1990 to 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2010:
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people worked a) less than 16 hours per week, 2) exactly 16 hours per week, c) more than 30 hours per week and d) more than 35 hours per week on average in each year from 1990 to 2010 (25677).
	The table provided shows Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for quarter three of each year from 1992 to 2010. Estimates prior to 1992 are not available.
	
		
			  Usual weekly hours of work in the UK( 1) , Quarter 3 each year, 1992 to 2010 
			  Thousand 
			   Less than 16 hours per week  Exactly 16 hours per week  More than 30 hours per week  More than 35 hours per week 
			 1992 2,432 289 18,881 17,230 
			 1993 2,417 299 18,693 17,094 
			 1994 2,434 313 18,787 17,217 
			 1995 2,542 331 19,471 17,849 
			 1996 2,533 375 19,452 17,822 
			 1997 2,516 377 19,751 18,074 
			 1998 2,459 411 19,970 18,277 
			 1999 2,478 432 20,151 18,435 
			 2000 2,435 428 20,240 18,394 
			 2001 2,260 468 20,424 18,596 
			 2002 2,411 524 20,489 18,541 
			 2003 2,411 524 20,489 18,541 
			 2004 2,312 537 20,591 18,574 
			 2005 2,285 573 20,982 18,894 
			 2006 2,319 581 20,978 18,874 
			 2007 2,270 596 21,161 19,011 
			 2008 2,270 667 21,242 19,100 
			 2009 2,313 700 20,469 18,379 
			 2010 2,388 770 20,406 18,244 
			 (1) Total usual weekly hours worked by people aged 16 and over in main job including paid and unpaid overtime.  Source: Labour Force Survey

EDUCATION

Academies

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in  (a) Don Valley constituency,  (b) Doncaster local education authority area and  (c) England had registered an interest in becoming an academy school on the latest date for which figures are available.

Nick Gibb: As at 19 November 2010, two schools in the Don Valley constituency, seven schools within Doncaster local education authority and 1,936 schools in England had registered an interest in becoming an academy.
	A list of all outstanding and non-outstanding schools that have registered an interest in converting to academy status was published on the Department's website at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/academies/a0061400/schools-registering-interest-or-submitting-an-application
	on 25 June 2010.

Academies

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which schools have been informed their application for academy status in September 2010  (a) has been granted and  (b) has not been granted.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 6 September 2010
	The list of schools that have applied to convert to an academy has been published on our website at:
	www.education.gov.uk/academies
	The list of schools that opened in September has also been published on our website. Ministers are still considering applications from schools and are keen to work with schools to convert when they feel ready to do so.

Academies: Kent

Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many enquiries about Academy status he has received from schools in Maidstone and the Weald constituency;
	(2)  how many Academy schools he expects to open in Maidstone and the Weald constituency in  (a) 2010 and  (b) 2011.

Nick Gibb: No academies are due to open in Maidstone and the Weald in 2010. However, the St Augustine's Academy will open in September 2011, replacing the Astor of Hever Community School.
	10 schools in the Maidstone and Weald constituency have expressed an interest in converting to academy status, of which two are judged to be outstanding by Ofsted. Neither of those two schools has yet applied to convert.
	The latest list of primary and secondary schools within England that have expressed an interest in academy status is available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/academies/a0061400/schools-registering-interest-or-submitting-an-application

Academies: Special Educational Needs

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what mechanisms exist to safeguard the interests of  (a) hard to place children,  (b) children with special educational needs and  (c) other children with specific needs educated in academy schools; and what mechanisms there are to safeguard the interests of the parents of such children.

Nick Gibb: Before the Academies Act, academies were already required to use their best endeavours to meet any special needs of pupils, have regard to the Special Education Needs (SEN) code of practice, have an SEN policy and appoint a suitable person to co-ordinate SEN provision.
	Where an academy fails to meet its SEN obligations, the Young People's Learning Agency, on behalf of the Secretary of State, has the role of ensuring that these obligations are met. Academy parents and pupils also have the same rights of access to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). In practice this means that children in academies already had very similar rights and protections as children in maintained schools.
	Where a child has a statement of SEN, the local authority retains both the funding for the appropriate provision, and the responsibility for ensuring that it is provided. As a result of the Academies Act, any new academy and any existing academy which moves to the new Funding Agreement (the contract between the Academy Trust and the Secretary of State) is under exactly the same duties as maintained schools in relation to children with SEN.
	In relation to admissions, academies must comply with the School Admissions Code and School Admission Appeals Code in the same way as maintained schools. This protects the interests of hard to place pupils and pupils with a statement of SEN. All maintained schools and academies must participate in their local authority's Fair Access Protocol in order to ensure that unplaced children, especially the most vulnerable, are offered a place at a suitable school in their home local authority as quickly as possible.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for construction under the Building Schools for the Future programme in Bolton.

Nick Gibb: Following the Secretary of State's announcement on 5 July and 6 August 2010, the position for the Building School for the Future programme in Bolton is as follows:
	
		
			   Position 
			 Bolton St Catherine's Academy Unaffected 
			 Essa Academy Unaffected 
			 Kearsley Academy Academy-decision on any capital allocation to be taken in the next few months 
			 Bolton Muslim Girls' School Stopped 
			 Ladybridge High School Stopped 
			 Little Lever Specialist Language College Stopped 
			 Rumworth Special School Stopped 
			 Sharples School Stopped 
			 Smithills Stopped 
			 Westhoughton High Stopped 
		
	
	The decision to end the wasteful and bureaucratic BSF programme does not mean the end of the capital investment in schools. Future capital spending will be prioritised on the basis of the outcome of the Capital Review by Sebastian James, due to report by the end of the calendar year.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the costs incurred by  (a) the London Borough of Camden,  (b) the London Borough of Brent,  (c) Hampstead School,  (d) Jack Taylor's School,  (e) Royal Free Children's School and  (f) Queen's Park Community School in respect of their preparation and presentation of bids for inclusion in the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Nick Gibb: The cost to local authorities of reaching the point of entry to the Building Schools for the Future programme (i.e. reaching the Remit meeting) is not held. It is likely to be relatively low given that the only requirement at this stage was the completion of a 20 page Readiness to Deliver statement, which was based on information the local authority would normally hold.
	The typical cost to a local authority of reaching Outline Business Case approval once it has entered the programme is estimated at £1.67 million.
	For projects that have entered in to procurement, the additional cost to progress from Outline Business Case to Close of Dialogue is estimated at £1.7 million.
	The figures stated above are on the basis of a Building Schools for the Future (BSF) Local Education Partnership procurement with two sample schemes.
	The Department for Education does not hold data on the cost to individual schools of the BSF programme. This will vary locally depending on the arrangements between individual local authorities and schools.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who are expected to  (a) have their income reduced and  (b) fall below the equivalised poverty threshold of 60 per cent. of median household income as a result of removal of education maintenance allowance; and what estimate he has made of the average amount by which the income of affected households will change as a result of this measure.

Nick Gibb: The EMA take-up data for England show that around 650,000 young people received EMA during the 2010/11 academic year as at 31 August 2010.
	From 2011/12 education maintenance allowances will be replaced by an enhanced learner support fund that will be administered by schools and colleges themselves, targeting those young people who face a real financial barrier to participation.
	Estimates of the number and proportion of children living in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income, adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living. The data are sourced from the Family Resources Survey (FRS)(1 )which collects detailed financial information across a range of income streams including income from the education maintenance allowance. There are concerns as to the reliability of EMA data on the FRS with a small number of relevant cases and amounts received being, in some instances, inconsistent with the implied entitlement. Therefore estimates of the impact of the removal of EMA on child poverty rates should be treated with some caution. However, data from 2008/09 suggest that the removal of EMA will have a negligible impact on the number of children in poverty.
	(1) Estimates from the Family Resources Survey are presented rounded to the nearest 100,000 households. If the figure is less than 50,000, this would be rounded down to zero, so instead such figures are presented as "less than 50,000" or "negligible".

Education: Autism

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to ensure that children with autism receive adequate support and assistance during the transition from primary to secondary education; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: Schools, and for children with special educational needs (SEN) statements, local authorities have responsibilities to ensure that children with SEN, including children with autism, make successful transitions between primary and secondary education. There is statutory guidance on this transition in the SEN code of practice. Advice is also available from other schools and local authorities, autism specialists, guidance previously published by the Department, such as 'Supporting pupils on the autism spectrum', published as part of the Inclusion Development Programme, and from the Autism Education Trust, which the Department funds and which has published a Transition Toolkit. The Department is aware that the transition from primary to secondary school can be particularly difficult for children with autism because of their resistance to change and will monitor research which is being conducted on this issue, such as that which is being carried out currently by the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust.
	The Government aim to publish a Green Paper on SEN and disability shortly. The Green Paper will set out how the Government intend to make the SEN system better for children with SEN, including those with autism, and their families.

Free Schools

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education in respect of how many independent schools an application to participate in the free schools programme has been approved.

Nick Gibb: As of 5 November 2010, three free school proposals from existing independent schools have been approved to progress to the business case and plan stage. The Free School programme aims to improve choice and drive up standards for all young people, regardless of their background. I welcome applications from independent schools that increase the diversity of provision in their area and provide an opportunity to bring high quality places into the state sector.

Free Schools

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on the provision of support for participation by independent schools in the free schools programme.

Nick Gibb: The Free School programme aims to improve choice and drive up standards for all young people, regardless of their background. I welcome applications from independent schools that increase the diversity of provision in their area and provide an opportunity to bring high quality places into the state sector. Any independent school becoming a free school will of course not be able to retain any form of selection by ability. Free schools will be all-ability schools required to abide by the admissions code.

Free Schools: Academies

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether a free school may achieve academy status under the provisions of the Academies Act 2010.

Nick Gibb: Free Schools will be set up as Academies under the provisions of the Academies Act 2010.

Free Schools: Teachers

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the  (a) minimum qualification,  (b) minimum age and  (c) maximum age requirement will be to teach at a free school.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 28 October 2010
	Innovation, diversity and flexibility are at the heart of the Free Schools policy. We want the dynamism that characterises the best independent schools to drive up standards in the state sector. In this spirit we will not be setting overly prescriptive requirements in relation to qualifications: instead we will expect business cases to demonstrate how governing bodies intend to guarantee the highest quality of teaching and leadership in their schools. No school will be allowed to proceed unless its proposals for quality teaching are soundly based. Ensuring each Free School's unique educational vision is translated into the classroom will require talented people with a diverse range of experience. As is the case with all schools, Free Schools will be subject to employment law and the Equalities Act 2010 with regard to age requirements.

New Schools Network

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the merits of developing a formal funding agreement with the New Schools Network; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether the contract awarded to the New Schools Network was advertised prior to its award;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 6 September 2010,  Official Report, column 357W, on the New Schools Network, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the applicability of HM Treasury guidance to his decision  (a) not to develop a formal funding agreement with the New Schools Network and  (b) to enter into a funding agreement with the New Schools Network;
	(4)  what advice he received from his Department in respect of the application of competitive tendering procedures to the allocation of funding to the New Schools Network;
	(5)  what consideration he gave to inviting other eligible organisations to bid for the funding awarded to the New Schools Network.

Nick Gibb: My officials have now finalised a grant agreement (rather than a contract) with New Schools Network (NSN) to provide advice to groups wishing to establish free schools. The Department considered carefully the options for securing the requisite services from an external organisation. Given the need for specialist skills and experience to be in place quickly it was decided to award a time limited grant to NSN. In doing so the Department took account of the UK Public Procurement Regulations 2006 and the Compact Commissioning Guidance. There have been no discussions with the Treasury on these matters.
	NSN has championed the development of parent and teacher promoted schools and has been providing advice and support to those interested in establishing new schools since 2009. It has also been developing networks among interested groups and individuals. This experience makes it ideally placed to fulfil the role. The Department has given similar grants in the past, such as to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, the Youth Sport Trust, Holocaust Educational Trust and the National Literacy Trust.

Schools: Admissions

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the admissions policy used by  (a) academies and  (b) other maintained schools.

Nick Gibb: The chief schools adjudicator has, in his annual report, published on 1 November, reported that he and his adjudicators consider that arrangements are getting better.
	Nevertheless, I have indicated my intention to review the admissions framework, including the Admissions Code, with a view to making it simpler, fairer and less bureaucratic.

Schools: Playing Fields

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has for requirements to provide outdoor space at  (a) free schools and  (b) academy schools.

Nick Gibb: Academies and Free Schools are subject to the requirements of the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010. These regulations require that there should be appropriate arrangements for providing outside space for pupils to play safely.
	The terms of reference for the current review of capital investment in schools, early years, colleges and sixth forms include the review and reform of the requirements on schools including regulations, design requirements and playing field requirements.

Teachers: Pay

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent representations he has received on  (a) the teacher pay structure and  (b) eligibility for teaching and learning responsibility payments; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Government want to reform the existing rigid national pay and conditions rules to give schools greater freedoms to pay good teachers more.
	The Department consulted teacher and head teacher unions, employers and governor representatives on changes to the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document (the Document) and the accompanying statutory guidance for September 2010. The main changes result from decisions made following a series of recent School Teachers Review Body (STRB) recommendations, including changes to pay scales to implement the 2.3% pay increase, and to pay arrangements for teachers of pupils with special educational needs (SEN). We received nine responses to the statutory consultation on the Document which ended on 30 July, which were broadly supportive of these changes.
	In addition there was a request to amend the teaching and learning responsibility (TLR) provisions; and eight requests to refer the matter of a proposed upper limit on leadership group remuneration to the STRB. Outside the consultation, seven teacher and head teacher unions also wrote to the Secretary of State about the proposal to implement an upper limit on leadership group remuneration. The Secretary of State wrote to the Chair of the STRB on 4 August to say that consideration of a limit on head teacher pay will be included in a future remit.
	The Department also recently consulted on changes to the statutory guidance which accompanies the Document. Nine responses were received to the statutory consultation which ended on 25 August. Although the responses were broadly supportive, three consultees made reference to the award of TLRs; six consultees suggested revised wording for the statutory guidance on SEN allowances for teachers which have informed amendments to the statutory guidance.

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department is taking to implement obligations under Articles 7, 23 and 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in relation to his Department's policy responsibilities.

Sarah Teather: The Department for Education is committed to the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and to improving outcomes for disabled children and young people. The UK Government will report to the UN Committee in July 2011, setting out how implementation has been achieved across Government.
	We are determined to raise the achievement and wellbeing of children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabled children. We are aiming to publish a SEN and Disability Green Paper. The Green Paper will consider how we can achieve better educational outcomes and life chances for disabled children and young people and those with SEN-from the early years through to the transition into adult life and employment. The Green Paper will seek to make radical improvements to the entire SEN and disability system for disabled children and young people. It will explore issues such as school choice, early identification and assessment, funding systems and family support in order to make life better for children with SEN and their parents.
	We have carried out an open 'call for views' exercise and we intend to engage directly with disabled children, young people and parents of disabled children as part of the Green Paper consultation process.